Woods v. Carey, No. 09-15548 (9th Cir. 2012)
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Earnest Woods, a former inmate, sued the warden and appeals coordinator under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for deliberate indifference to his medical needs. First, the district court granted the warden's motion for summary judgment, concluding that Woods failed to connect him to the alleged deprivation of his constitutional rights. The court subsequently granted the defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, but only as to one of the two grievances. After proceeding to trial on the remaining grievance, Woods obtained a jury verdict against the appeals coordinator. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's grant of the motion of summary judgment and the motion to dismiss, holding (1) Rand and Wyatt notices must be provided to pro se prisoner plaintiffs concurrently with motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment filed by defendants; and (2) the notice provided by the district court in this case, which preceded the filing of the motion for summary judgment by over a year and the motion to dismiss by more than two years, did not provide fair notice to Woods, a pro se prisoner plaintiff.
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