FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 04 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
REGINALD WAYNE WHATLEY, No. 15-55813
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 5:13-cv-01796-DOC-
MRW
v.
CORRECTIONAL OFFICER NANEZ, MEMORANDUM*
his individual capacity;
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
David O. Carter, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted October 25, 2016**
Before: LEAVY, SILVERMAN, and GRABER, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Reginald Wayne Whatley appeals pro se from the
district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging
deliberate indifference to his safety. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
*
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).
We review de novo a district court’s summary judgment on the basis of failure to
exhaust administrative remedies. Williams v. Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1191 (9th
Cir. 2015). We affirm.
The district court properly granted summary judgment because Whatley
failed to exhaust his available administrative remedies as required by the Prison
Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) and failed to demonstrate that prison officials
interfered with the grievance process. See Ross v. Blake, 136 S. Ct. 1850, 1856,
1860 (2016) (proper administrative exhaustion under the PLRA is mandatory, but
may not be required when “prison administrators thwart inmates from taking
advantage of a grievance process through machination, misrepresentation, or
intimidation”). Whatley’s contention that he did not have to exhaust because he
brought a civil suit seeking money damages is unpersuasive. See Booth v.
Churner, 532 U.S. 731, 741 n.6 (2001) (administrative exhaustion is required
under the PLRA regardless of “the forms of relief sought and offered through
administrative avenues”).
Whatley’s motion for leave to exhaust administrative remedies, filed on June
6, 2016, is denied.
AFFIRMED.
2 15-55813