Dees

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

DOUGLAS DEES, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, No. 03-16004 v.  D.C. No.

CV-02-00303-HDM

HELMUTH T. BILLY, M.D.; GREGORY

E. GINN, M.D., OPINION

Defendants-Appellees.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Howard D. McKibben, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted December 9, 2004—San Francisco, California

Filed January 19, 2005

Before: Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, Robert E. Cowen,* and Carlos T. Bea, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge O’Scannlain

*The Honorable Robert E. Cowen, Senior United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, sitting by designation. COUNSEL

W. Ruel Walker, Oakland, California, argued the cause for the appellant; Carl M. Hebert, Reno, Nevada, was on the briefs.

Denise H. Greer, Schmid & Voiles, Los Angeles, California, argued the cause for the appellees; Patricia Egan Daehnke, 822 DEES v. BILLY Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O’Keefe & Nichols, Las Vegas, Nevada, was on the brief.

OPINION

O’SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:

We must…