James Toney v. Michael Hakala, No. 13-3347 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Prisoner case - Prisoner Civil Rights. Defendants' summary judgment on plaintiff's deliberate indifference to medical needs claims is affirmed; district court did not abuse its discretion in supervising discovery or in decisions to deny appointment of counsel and an expert. [ May 28, 2014
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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 13-3347 ___________________________ James I. Toney lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant v. Michael Hakala, Doctor, CMS, SECC, Individually; Debbie Vinson, Director of Nursing, CMS, SECC, Individually and Officially, also known as Debbie Vincent; William McKinney, Doctor, CMS, PCC, Individually and Officially; Lisa Spain, Director of Nursing, CMS, PCC, Individually and Officially; Kim Randolph, Health Services Administrator, CMS, PCC, Individually and Officially; Kim Klein, Registered Nurse, CMS, PCC, Indivdually and Officially lllllllllllllllllllll Defendants - Appellees ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis ____________ Submitted: May 23, 2014 Filed: May 29, 2014 [Unpublished] ____________ Before GRUENDER, BOWMAN, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. James I. Toney appeals from the order of the District Court1 granting summary judgment to the defendants in Toney s 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983 action alleging deliberate indifference to his medical needs. Viewing the record in the light most favorable to Toney, we conclude that summary judgment was proper for the reasons stated by the District Court. See Johnson v. Blaukat, 453 F.3d at 1108, 1112 (8th Cir. 2006) (noting the summary judgment standard of review). We further conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in supervising the discovery process and the filing of pleadings or in its decisions to deny the appointment of counsel and an expert. See Phillips v. Jasper Cnty. Jail, 437 F.3d 791, 794 (8th Cir. 2006) ( We will reverse a court s denial of appointed counsel only if it constitutes an abuse of discretion. ); Level 3 Commc ns, L.L.C. v. City of St. Louis, Mo., 540 F.3d 794, 796 (8th Cir. 2008) (explaining that we review a district court s discovery rulings for a gross abuse of discretion), cert. denied, 557 U.S. 935 (2009); Sierra Club v. Robertson, 28 F.3d 753, 760 (8th Cir. 1994) (reviewing the denial of a motion to file a second supplemental complaint for an abuse of discretion); U.S. Marshals Serv. v. Means, 741 F.2d 1053, 1059 (8th Cir. 1984) (en banc) (emphasizing that a court should appoint an expert witness only under compelling circumstances ). We affirm the judgment of the District Court. ______________________________ 1 The Honorable John A. Ross, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. -2-
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