Raymond Myers v. R. Arias ( 2021 )


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  •                            NOT FOR PUBLICATION                           FILED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                        APR 28 2021
    MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    RAYMOND DEAN MYERS,                             No. 19-56366
    Plaintiff-Appellant,            D.C. No. 3:18-cv-02239-DMS-
    BLM
    v.
    R. ARIAS, Captain of D-Yard,                    MEMORANDUM*
    Defendant-Appellee,
    and
    DANIEL PARAMO, Warden; et al.,
    Defendants.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Southern District of California
    Dana M. Sabraw, District Judge, Presiding
    Submitted April 20, 2021**
    Before: THOMAS, Chief Judge, TASHIMA and SILVERMAN, Circuit Judges.
    *
    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).
    California state prisoner Raymond Dean Myers appeals pro se from the
    district court’s summary judgment and dismissal order in his 
    42 U.S.C. § 1983
    action alleging deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs and other
    claims. We have jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    . We review de novo. Albino
    v. Baca, 
    747 F.3d 1162
    , 1171 (9th Cir. 2014) (en banc) (summary judgment for
    failure to exhaust); Watison v. Carter, 
    668 F.3d 1108
    , 1112 (9th Cir. 2012)
    (dismissal under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1915
    (e)(2)(B)(ii)); Resnick v. Hayes, 
    213 F.3d 443
    ,
    447 (9th Cir. 2000) (dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A). We affirm.
    The district court properly granted summary judgment for defendant Arias
    because Myers did not exhaust his administrative remedies, and failed to raise a
    genuine dispute of material fact as to whether administrative remedies were
    effectively unavailable to him. See Ross v. Blake, 
    136 S. Ct. 1850
    , 1858-60 (2016)
    (explaining that an inmate must exhaust such administrative remedies as are
    available before bringing suit, and describing limited circumstances in which
    administrative remedies are unavailable); Albino, 747 F.3d at 1172-73 (explaining
    burden shifting analysis in evaluating exhaustion at summary judgment); Brown v.
    Valoff, 
    422 F.3d 926
    , 934-35 (9th Cir. 2005) (confirming the requirement under the
    Prison Litigation Reform Act that a prisoner must exhaust administrative remedies
    as long as some relief is available, even if the desired relief is not available).
    The district court properly dismissed Myers’s claims against defendants
    2                                        19-56366
    Paramo and Miller because Myers failed to allege facts sufficient to show that
    these defendants were directly involved in the challenged housing assignments or
    dietary decisions. See Maxwell v. County of San Diego, 
    708 F.3d 1075
    , 1097 (9th
    Cir. 2013) (“There is no respondeat superior liability under § 1983. Rather, a
    government official may be held liable only for the official’s own conduct.”).
    The district court did not abuse its discretion in severing Myers’s deliberate
    indifference claim against defendant Basto and dismissing the claim without
    prejudice because Myers failed to demonstrate that this claim arose “out of the
    same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences,” and
    involved a “question of law or fact common to all defendants.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
    20(a)(2); Coughlin v. Rogers, 
    130 F.3d 1348
    , 1351 (9th Cir. 1997) (setting forth
    standard of review and explaining the requirements for permissive joinder).
    We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued
    in the opening brief, or arguments or allegations raised for the first time on appeal.
    See Padgett v. Wright, 
    587 F.3d 983
    , 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009). We do not consider
    issues that are not supported by argument. See Acosta-Huerta v. Estelle, 
    7 F.3d 139
    , 144 (9th Cir. 1992).
    We reject as unsupported by the record Myers’s contentions that he was
    denied due process, and that the district court erred by issuing the severance order
    3                                    19-56366
    while an extension of time to respond to the motion was pending and by denying
    Myers’s request for sanctions.
    All pending requests, set forth in the opening and reply briefs, are denied.
    AFFIRMED.
    4                                    19-56366