Louis Cosco v. Debi Lightsey, No. 09-17162 (9th Cir. 2011)
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FILED JAN 24 2011 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT LOUIS D. COSCO, No. 09-17162 Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 3:05-cv-00078-JCMRAM v. MEMORANDUM * DEBI D. LIGHTSEY, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada James C. Mahan, District Judge, Presiding Submitted January 10, 2011 ** Before: BEEZER, TALLMAN, and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges. Louis D. Cosco, formerly a Nevada state prisoner, appeals pro se from the district court s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging violation of his right of access to the courts arising from a prison librarian s failure to photocopy a legal document in a timely manner. We have jurisdiction under 28 * 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). U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo, FTC v. Stefanchik, 559 F.3d 924, 927 (9th Cir. 2009), and we affirm. The district court properly granted summary judgment to Lightsey because the right of access to the courts is limited to cases in which inmates attack their sentences, directly or collaterally, and . . . challenge the conditions of their confinement. Impairment of any other litigating capacity is simply one of the incidental (and perfectly constitutional) consequences of conviction and incarceration. Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 355 (1996). Cosco s underlying litigation was not a challenge to his conviction or to his conditions of confinement. Rather, it was based on a declaratory judgment action related to a settlement agreement he had entered into with Wyoming prison officials, regarding compensation for property that was confiscated from his prison cell. Therefore, Cosco had no constitutional right of access to the courts to litigate the underlying action. See Simmons v. Sacramento Cnty. Super. Ct., 318 F.3d 1156, 1159-60 (9th Cir. 2003) (explaining that a prisoner has no constitutional right of access to the courts to litigate an unrelated civil claim ). Cosco s remaining contentions are unpersuasive. AFFIRMED. 2 09-17162
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