Bitzan v. Bartruff

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Plaintiff, an inmate, appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendants on his claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The court held that plaintiff failed to administratively exhaust some claims, and he failed to show a violation of his rights under RLUIPA and the First Amendment on the claims he exhausted. The court also held that the district court properly granted summary judgment on plaintiff's retaliation claims against five defendants because plaintiff did not allege any facts connecting those defendants to the challenged actions.However, the court held that a genuine issue of material fact remained as to plaintiff's retaliation claims against seven other defendants where plaintiff presented evidence that these specific defendants placed him in administrative segregation and prevented him from providing his attorney with legal documents shortly after he filed a previous lawsuit against prison officials and they knew of the lawsuit. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part and reversed in part, remanding for further proceedings. View "Bitzan v. Bartruff" on Justia Law