Smith v. Cate CA4/1

I.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Gregory Smith appeals from a judgment entered in favor of defendants

Matthew Cate, A. Clark, J. Carey, E. Solis, S. Daraglou, and R. Perez,1 after the court

sustained the defendants' demurrers to Smith's complaint, without leave to amend, on the

ground that Smith had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies prior to filing suit.

Smith sued the defendants for negligence after he was attacked and injured by a fellow

inmate while incarcerated in state prison. We affirm the judgment.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Smith is an inmate in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and

Rehabilitation (CDCR) at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Defendant Cate

is the former Secretary of the CDCR; defendant Daraglou is a clinical psychologist who

worked at the prison; defendant Perez was a correctional sergeant at the prison at the time

of the alleged injuries; and defendants Solis, Clark and Carey were correctional officers

at the time of the alleged injuries.

Smith alleges in his complaint that the defendants' negligence resulted in an

assault on Smith by another inmate. According to Smith, the…