Filed: Aug. 10, 2020
Latest Update: Aug. 10, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit _ No. 20-1100 _ Adam Hill lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant v. Dale Reed, Chief Deputy Director, ADC lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee Hancock, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC; Gaylon Lay, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants Michelle Gray, Assistant Warden, ADC; Ricky Brooks, Lieutenant, Ester Unit (originally named as Brooks); Lolita Shepard, Corporal, Ester Unit (originally named as Shepe
Summary: United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit _ No. 20-1100 _ Adam Hill lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant v. Dale Reed, Chief Deputy Director, ADC lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee Hancock, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC; Gaylon Lay, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants Michelle Gray, Assistant Warden, ADC; Ricky Brooks, Lieutenant, Ester Unit (originally named as Brooks); Lolita Shepard, Corporal, Ester Unit (originally named as Sheper..
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United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 20-1100
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Adam Hill
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant
v.
Dale Reed, Chief Deputy Director, ADC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee
Hancock, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC; Gaylon Lay, Lieutenant, Barbara
Ester Unit, ADC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants
Michelle Gray, Assistant Warden, ADC; Ricky Brooks, Lieutenant, Ester Unit
(originally named as Brooks); Lolita Shepard, Corporal, Ester Unit (originally
named as Sheperd)
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees
Mayo, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant
Wendy Kelley, Former Director, ADC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee
J. Gillum, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant
Dexter Payne, Director, ADC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee
G. Thompson, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC; Holcomb, Lieutenant, Barbara
Ester Unit, ADC; Owney, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC; Jones, Lieutenant,
Barbara Ester Unit, ADC; Edwards, Lieutenant, Barbara Ester Unit, ADC
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Batesville
____________
Submitted: July 20, 2020
Filed: August 10, 2020
[Unpublished]
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Before KELLY, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, Adam Hill—a former inmate at the Ester Unit
in Arkansas—appeals the district court’s1 adverse grant of summary judgment.
Viewing the record in a light most favor to Hill, and drawing all reasonable inferences
in his favor, see Jackson v. Stair,
944 F.3d 704, 709 (8th Cir. 2019) (de novo review),
we agree that summary judgment was appropriate. As to the issues Hill raises on
1
The Honorable James M. Moody, Jr., United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Arkansas, adopting the report and recommendations of the
Honorable Joe J. Volpe, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of
Arkansas.
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appeal, we agree with the district court that Hill’s claims for damages against the
defendants in their official capacities were barred, see Burk v. Beene,
948 F.2d 489,
492–94 (8th Cir. 1991) (Arkansas has not waived its sovereign immunity, so sovereign
immunity barred official-capacity claims for damages against defendant state official);
and that, as to the claims against defendants in their individual capacities, he failed to
show that the incidents he identified were in retaliation for his exercise of his First
Amendment right to file grievances or lawsuits, see Santiago v. Blair,
707 F.3d 984,
991–92 (8th Cir. 2013) (requirements for showing § 1983 retaliation claims in
violation of First Amendment include that defendants took adverse actions against
plaintiff that would chill person of ordinary firmness from continuing protected
activity, and adverse actions were motivated, at least in part, by plaintiff’s exercise of
protected activity); Goff v. Burton,
7 F.3d 734, 737–38 (8th Cir. 1993) (for retaliatory
transfer claim, inmate must show that “but for” impermissible retaliation, he would not
have been transferred). The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
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