Dameion Douglas v. Oregonian Publishing Co.

MEMORANDUM

Oregon state prisoner Dameion Douglas appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging claims related to being falsely labeled an informant. We review de novo a dismissal for failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A and 1915(e) (2) (B) (ii). Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir.2000); Barren v. Harrington, 152 F.3d 1193, 1194 (9th Cir. 1998) (order). We may affirm on any ground supported by the record. Johnson v. Riverside Healthcare Sys., 534 F.3d 1116, 1121 (9th Cir.2008). We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand.

The district court properly dismissed Douglas’s claims against the private defendants who published allegedly defamatory statements about Douglas because he failed to allege that they acted under color of state law as joint actors with the state or under state compulsion. See Johnson v. Knowles, 113 F.3d 1114, 1119-20 (9th Cir.1997) (state compulsion test); Price v. Hawaii, 939 F.2d 702, 707-09 (9th Cir.1991) (conclusory allegations of conspiracy do not satisfy joint action test).

Although the district court overlooked Douglas’s claims against the state defendants, all but one fail…