George Shufelt, III v. Linda Davis

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION OCT 17 2012 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT GEORGE W. SHUFELT, III, No. 11-55474 Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 5:07-cv-01188-PA-PLA v. MEMORANDUM * LINDA DAVIS, in her official & individual capacity, ISP’s Litigation Coordinator; et al., Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Percy Anderson, District Judge, Presiding Submitted October 9, 2012 ** Before: RAWLINSON, MURGUIA, and WATFORD, Circuit Judges. California state prisoner George W. Shufelt, III, appeals pro se from the district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging access- * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). to-courts and retaliation claims. We review de novo, Brodheim v. Cry, 584 F.3d 1262, 1267 (9th Cir. 2009), and we affirm. The district court properly granted summary judgment on Shufelt’s access- to-courts claims because Shufelt failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether he suffered actual injury as a result of prison officials’ alleged conduct. See Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 348-49 (1996) (access-to-courts claim requires actual prejudice to contemplated or existing litigation, such as inability to meet a filing deadline or to present a claim); Alvarez v. Hill, 518 F.3d 1152, 1155 n.1 (9th Cir. 2008) (an inmate’s failure to show that a nonfrivolous legal claim has been frustrated is fatal to his access-to-courts claim). The district court properly granted summary judgment on Shufelt’s retaliation claims because Shufelt failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether prison officials’ alleged actions served legitimate penological goals or whether those actions would have chilled an inmate of ordinary firmness. See Brodheim, 584 F.3d at 1269 (setting forth the elements of a retaliation claim); Pratt v. Rowland, 65 F.3d 802, 806 (9th Cir. 1995) (plaintiff must show that allegedly retaliatory action did not advance legitimate correctional goals). AFFIRMED. 2 11-55474