UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 96-20235
Summary Calendar
MICHAEL W. THOMAS,
Petitioner-Appellant,
versus
WAYNE SCOTT,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
For the Southern District of Texas
(CA H 95-1306)
August 14, 1996
Before POLITZ, Chief Judge, HIGGINBOTHAM and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Michael W. Thomas, a Texas state prisoner, appeals an adverse summary
judgment in his civil rights action. Thomas contends that the district court erred
by granting summary judgment for Wayne Scott; that Scott was deliberately
*
Pursuant to Local Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be
published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in Local Rule
47.5.4.
indifferent to his safety and failed to protect him from other prisoners; that prison
officials retaliated against him by assigning him to the garden squad; and that the
district court erred by granting summary judgment without ruling on his motion to
compel production of documentary evidence.
We have reviewed the record and the briefs of the parties and we find no
reversible error regarding the grant of summary judgment. Accordingly, we affirm
the summary judgment for essentially the reasons relied upon by the district court.1
Thomas has failed to show plain error regarding whether prison officials retaliated
against him when they assigned him to the garden squad.2 The district court did not
abuse its discretion by granting summary judgment without ruling on Thomas’s
discovery request.3 Thomas’s pleadings indicate no genuine issues of material fact.
Finally, because of today’s disposition, Thomas’s request for appointment of
counsel to assist him in discovery is DENIED.
The judgment appealed is AFFIRMED.
1
Thomas v. Scott, No. H-95-1306 (S.D.Tex. Feb. 28, 1996).
2
Douglass v. United Servs. Auto. Ass’n, 79 F.3d 1415 (5th Cir. 1996) (en banc).
3
Richardson v. Henry, 902 F.2d 414 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 901 (1990), and
cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1069 (1991).
2