Philip Rosati v. Dr. Igbinoso

Philip Walker Rosati (now known as Mia Rosati) is a transgender inmate in the California prison system. Rosati filed a pro se 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint claiming that prison officials violated the Eighth Amendment through deliberate indifference to her serious medical needs. Rosati alleges that she suffers from severe gender dysphoria for which sexual reassignment surgery (“SRS”) is the medically necessary treatment, but that prison officials refuse to provide the surgery. The district court dismissed the complaint at screening without leave to amend for failure to state a claim. Rosati, now represented by counsel, appeals. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 ; we reverse the dismissal and remand for further proceedings.

In determining whether a complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1916 (e)(2)(B)(ii), we apply the familiar standard of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir.2012). “[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Akhtar v. Mesa, 698 F.3d…