Kelvin Singleton v. S. Lopez

MEMORANDUM

Kelvin Singleton appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendants rejecting his suit that alleged deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292 . We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Lemire v. Cal. Dep’t of Corr. & Rehab., 726 F.3d 1062, 1074 (9th Cir.2013). We affirm in part and reverse in part the grant of summary judgment.

I

Singleton claims that officials at Kern Valley State Prison were deliberately indifferent to two separate medical conditions during his confinement there from 2006 to 2008. First, he argues that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to his back pain based on (A) their refusal to grant certain accommodations to prison policies and (B) the substantial delay he faced in receiving effective pain treatment. On the first issue, the prison officials testified that the accommodations requested by Singleton — an extra mattress, a lower bunk, and permission not to lie prone during drills — were not medically necessary and could exacerbate Singleton’s condition. Although officials at…