American Federation of State v. Nevada Ex Rel. Department of Corrections

AMENDED MEMORANDUM

Robert Bianchi (“Bianchi”), a lieutenant at the Nevada State Prison with the Nevada Department of Corrections (“NDOC”), appeals the summary judgment dismissal of his § 1983 action, alleging that he was retaliated against by the NDOC in violation of his First Amendment rights. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and affirm.

Bianchi contends that NDOC demoted him in retaliation for his involvement in a no-confidence petition regarding the Assistant Warden of Operations, Walter Donat, and issued him a letter of reprimand in retaliation for testifying regarding the petition at a trial. However, Bianchi successfully appealed each disciplinary action, was reinstated to his former rank as a lieutenant, and the letter of reprimand was removed from his file. NDOC alleges that it had legitimate reasons for reprimanding Bianchi: he had failed to report on or properly supervise a misbehaving subordinate, and had misused a sick day and had given misleading statements about it.

Reviewing the grant of summary judgment de novo, we conclude Bianchi has not provided evidence sufficient to show any genuine issue of material fact. Retaliation claims against government…