Earnest Woods, II v. Tom Carey

MEMORANDUM

Earnest Cassell Woods, a former inmate of California State Prison, Solano, won a jury verdict and an award of $1500 in his case against Solano Warden Tom Carey, in which he alleged that Appeals Coordinator Santos Cervantes was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Despite the verdict in his favor, Woods nonetheless appeals various rulings by the district court. Cervantes cross-appeals the judgment and the award entered against him.

We reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Carey in his individual capacity and the grant of the defendants’ motion to dismiss for failure to exhaust related to Woods’ December 3, 2003 grievance in a separate opinion. We affirm the district court in all other respects.

1. Woods filed thirteen motions requesting the appointment of counsel. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (e)(1), the court may request an attorney to represent an indigent plaintiff upon a finding of “exceptional circumstances.” Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir.1991). “A finding of exceptional circumstances requires an evaluation of both ‘the likelihood of success on the merits [and] the ability of…