NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS DEC 22 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
RODNEY CARVER BRIGGS, Jr., No. 16-15336
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 5:14-cv-02744-BLF
v.
MEMORANDUM*
FERNANDO TUVERA; et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Beth Labson Freeman, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 14, 2016**
Before: WALLACE, LEAVY, and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
Rodney Carver Briggs, Jr., a former California state prisoner, appeals pro se
from the district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging
deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. We have jurisdiction under 28
U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo, Toguchi v. Chung, 391 F.3d 1051, 1056 (9th
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Cir. 2004), and we affirm.
The district court properly granted summary judgment because Briggs failed
to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether defendants were
deliberately indifferent to his chronic back pain. See id. at 1057-60 (a prison
official is deliberately indifferent only if he or she knows of and disregards an
excessive risk to inmate health; a difference of opinion concerning the course of
treatment, medical malpractice, or negligence in diagnosing or treating a medical
condition does not amount to deliberate indifference).
The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Briggs’s motions to
appoint counsel because Briggs did not demonstrate any exceptional
circumstances. See Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (setting
forth standard of review and requirement of exceptional circumstances for
appointment of counsel).
AFFIRMED.
2 16-15336