Bal

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 ERNEST LEE COX, JR., No. 2:22-cv-00804-WBS-EFB (PC) Plaintiff, v. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS I. BAL., et al., Defendants. 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff initiated this action on May 4, 2022 (ECF No. 1) and filed his First Amended Complaint (FAC) on October 11, 2022. ECF No. 19. After screening the FAC, this court found that plaintiff’s allegations stated a potentially cognizable Eighth Amendment claim of deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s serious medical needs by defendants Bal, Williams, and Patterson, three Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP) officials who, in late 2020, allegedly permitted COVID-19 infected inmates to mingle with vulnerable inmates such as plaintiff, a 60-year-old cancer patient. ECF No. 27. All other claims in the FAC were dismissed with prejudice. Id. Defendants have now filed a motion to dismiss on various…