Gevas v. McLaughlin

Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendants-prison officials' motion for judgment as matter of law at conclusion of plaintiff-prisoner’s case in chief in section 1983 action alleging that defendants violated plaintiff’s 8th Amendment rights by failing to protect him from stabbing attack by cellmate. By time plaintiff concluded his testimony at trial, jury could have found that, shortly before instant attack, plaintiff had expressly alerted three prison officials as to cellmate’s threats to stab him. As such, Dist. Ct. could not support instant grant of defendants’ motion on finding that prison officials were not subjectively aware of serious risk of harm to plaintiff. Ct. further rejected defendants’ argument that plaintiff could have reasonably avoided instant attack by violating prison rule by refusing to go to his cell and thereby subjecting himself to disciplinary segregation in order to obtain separation from cellmate.