Opinion ID: 2975069
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Elements of a Retaliation Claim

Text: MDOC argues that even if the district court erred in applying the habeas exception to bar Thomas’s claim, its decision should be affirmed on the alternate ground that Thomas cannot prove any set of facts sufficient to establish a retaliation claim. According to MDOC, the administrative determination that Thomas actually committed the sexual misconduct precludes him from being able to establish retaliation. To state a claim alleging retaliation for exercising a constitutional right, a plaintiff must show that (1) he engaged in protected conduct; (2) the defendant took an adverse action against him “that would deter a person of ordinary firmness from continuing to engage in that conduct”; and (3) that the adverse action was taken (at least in part) because of the protected conduct. Thaddeus-X v. Blatter, 175 F.3d 378, 394 (6th Cir. 1999) (en banc). affect the length of custody. 544 U.S. at 82. This apparent tension vanishes once one considers “the punishment imposed” in Balisok—a deprivation of good-time credits, which typically have an automatic effect on the amount of time an inmate is incarcerated. See Balisok, 520 U.S. 646. Accordingly, in both cases, the Court focused on the same issue: the length of custody. 4 Notwithstanding this observation, we express no opinion regarding whether Michigan’s “good time” credit system is analogous to the system at issue in Balisok. 5 The conviction could have deprived him of more than the five days of disciplinary credit, as “[t]he warden may order that a prisoner found guilty of a major misconduct . . . forfeit all or a portion of the disciplinary credits accumulated prior to the month in which the misconduct occurred.” MICH. COMP. LAWS § 800.33(5). No. 05-1203 Thomas v. Eby Page 6
Thomas alleges that his filing a grievance against a corrections officer is protected conduct. We have previously recognized that “[a]n inmate has an undisputed First Amendment right to file grievances against prison officials on his own behalf.” Herron v. Harrison, 203 F.3d 410, 415 (6th Cir. 2000); see also Smith v. Campbell, 250 F.3d 1032, 1037 (6th Cir. 2001). Thomas adequately alleges this element. MDOC objects, claiming that Thomas did not plead that his grievance was not frivolous. It is true that filing frivolous grievances is not protected conduct, Herron, 203 F.3d at 415, but MDOC misconstrues the pleading standard. The purpose of notice pleading is to “giv[e] the opposing party fair notice of the nature and basis or grounds of” the claim. 5 CHARLES ALAN WRIGHT & ARTHUR R. MILLER, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 1215 (3d ed. 2004). Thomas’s pleading accomplishes this goal. Furthermore, the Supreme Court recently rejected an argument similar to MDOC’s. Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. ---, 127 S. Ct. 910 (2007) (rejecting argument that the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires plaintiffs to plead exhaustion of administrative remedies). Lastly, Thomas’s complaint fails only if he can prove no set of facts that would entitle him to relief. See Herron, 203 F.3d at 414. As discussed below, Thomas could prove various facts that would establish that the grievance was not frivolous. Accordingly, Thomas had no duty to plead that this grievance was not frivolous. MDOC also cites an unpublished order for the proposition that guilt of misconduct negates an allegation of protected conduct. The case, Thomason v. Coble, 100 F. App’x 522 (6th Cir. 2004) (unpublished order), involves a claim that prison officials issued a retaliatory write-up in response to the plaintiff’s attempt to get medical care. Because the plaintiff pleaded guilty to the disciplinary write-up, we concluded that he had violated a legitimate prison regulation and accordingly was not engaged in constitutionally protected conduct. Id. at 523. The order provides no authority or rationale for this conclusion, and because it is unpublished, we are not bound by it. See 6TH CIR. R. 206(c). Further, the case is distinguishable, as Thomas’s asserted protected activity (filing a grievance) and the basis for his write-up (sexual misconduct) were entirely different. Such is not true—or at least it is not clear—in Thomason. Accordingly, we decline to follow Thomason.
Thomas claims that Eby’s issuing him the sexual-misconduct ticket constitutes an adverse action. Because inmates convicted of major-misconduct charges lose their ability to accumulate disciplinary credits for that month, inmates of ordinary firmness would be more reluctant to engage in protected conduct that may lead to the retaliatory issuance of misconduct tickets. Accordingly, Thomas has adequately alleged a sufficiently adverse action. MDOC disagrees on two fronts. First, it argues that Thomas claims in his complaint and his pro se brief that the misconduct ticket was “false,” and that the result of the administrative appeal process disproves this allegation. The alleged falsity of the ticket, however, addresses causation, and accordingly is discussed below. Second, MDOC argues that Thomas’s subsequent conduct—filing a grievance against Eby and then filing this lawsuit—demonstrates that issuing a major-misconduct ticket did not deter him from exercising his constitutional rights. This argument is flawed in at least two ways. First, the issue is whether a person of ordinary firmness would be deterred, not whether Thomas himself actually was deterred. Second, if subsequently challenging prison officials ipso facto demonstrated that the challenged action was not sufficiently adverse to undermine constitutional rights, no case alleging retaliation for exercising First Amendment rights could ever be brought. Thus, we totally reject the argument that the later filing of complaints or grievances against challenged action demonstrates that the challenged action was not sufficiently adverse to constitute adverse action. No. 05-1203 Thomas v. Eby Page 7
The parties’ primary dispute centers on causation. Because the question is whether the adverse action was taken (at least in part) because of the protected conduct, the causation inquiry centers on the defendant’s motive. See Thaddeus-X, 175 F.3d at 399; Leonard v. Robinson, --- F.3d ----, No. 05-1728, 2007 WL 283832, at  (6th Cir. Feb. 2, 2007). According to MDOC, Thomas cannot show causation without first demonstrating that the misconduct charge was ultimately resolved in his favor, which he cannot do because he was convicted and the conviction was affirmed in the prison’s review process. In other words, MDOC argues that because the administrative process concluded that Eby’s allegations were not false, Thomas cannot show a retaliatory motive. In essence, MDOC’s argument imports the favorabletermination requirement of Heck into cases where the habeas exception to § 1983 does not apply. On summary judgment, we analyze the causation element of a retaliation claim under the burden-shifting framework announced in Mount Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274 (1977). Thaddeus-X, 175 F.3d at 399. After a plaintiff shows that his protected conduct was a motivating factor in the defendant’s action, the defendant may thwart the retaliation claim by showing that it would have taken the same action even without the protected activity. Id. MDOC cites Henderson v. Baird, 29 F.3d 464 (8th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 515 U.S. 1145 (1995), as well as a bevy of our unpublished opinions relying on Henderson and Hynes v. Squillace, 143 F.3d 653 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 907 (1998), in support of the proposition that a proven infraction of prison rules will generally satisfy the defendant’s burden. Notably, each of these cases was decided on summary judgment, and therefore, each is distinguishable from the present case, which the district court dismissed sua sponte before service of the complaint on the sole defendant, Eby. However, MDOC cites no case applying the Mount Healthy standard on a motion to dismiss, and for good reason—it makes little sense to apply it at the pleading stage. A complaint cannot be dismissed unless “the plaintiff can prove no set of facts” that would entitle him to relief. Brown, 207 F.3d at 867 (emphasis added). Here, Thomas could establish multiple sets of facts that would prove his § 1983 claim. For example, it is possible that after discovery, Thomas would be able to demonstrate that inmates regularly expose their genitals to guards without consequence. Or perhaps he could prove that he had exposed himself to Eby in the past, but she had never pursued disciplinary action until after he filed a grievance against another guard. In either of these cases, Thomas would be able to show that his filing a grievance was “a motivating factor” behind the misconduct ticket. Thaddeus-X, 175 F.3d at 399. And Eby likely would be unable to meet her burden to “show that [s]he would have taken the same action in the absence of the protected activity.” Id. While it may be unlikely that Thomas could prove such facts, the district court cannot dismiss a pro se prisoner’s pleading merely “because the court finds the plaintiff’s allegations unlikely.” Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 33 (1992). Accordingly, we conclude that Thomas adequately pleaded a claim for retaliation.