Dalton

MEMORANDUM *

William Dalton appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and pendent state law claims against his former employer, the Washington State Department of Corrections (“DOC”), and his former supervisors, Joseph Lehman (former Secretary of the DOC), Alice Payne (former Prison Superintendent), and Jane Robinson (former Health Care Manager). Dalton alleges that he was terminated from employment as a nurse at the McNeil Island correctional facility (the “Prison”) for statements he made about conditions at the Prison’s health care facility. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

1. Dalton’s May 2001 testimony to the risk management task force and his related letter to various public officials are undisputedly protected speech. Whether that speech was a “substantial or motivating factor” is a question of fact, Eng v. Cooley, 552 F.3d 1062, 1071 (9th Cir.2009), that is typically left to the trier of fact, Allen v. Scribner, 812 F.2d 426, 436 (9th Cir.1987) (observing that the issue of motivation generally presents a jury question), amended, 828 F.2d 1445 (9th Cir.1987). We have previously held “that circumstantial evidence…