James Jefferson v. J.R. Weaver

MEMORANDUM

California state prisoner James L. Jefferson appeals pro se from the district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging Eighth Amendment violations and other claims. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo, Cordon v. United States, 474 F.3d 616, 621 (9th Cir.2007), and we affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment on the Jefferson’s Eighth Amendment claim because Jefferson failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether defendants endangered his safety based on his transgendered or HIV-positive status. See id. at 621, 624 (unanswered requests for admission may be relied on as the basis for granting summary judgment); see also Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 833-34, 837 , 114 S.Ct. 1970 , 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994) (setting forth elements of Eighth Amendment claim); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, n. 11 , 106 S.Ct. 1348 , 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (averments in a pleading are not sufficient to create a triable dispute of fact for purposes of defeating summary judgment).

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Jefferson’s requests for…