Heirs of Del Real v. Eason, 374 S.W.3d 483

Appellants are the heirs of Bernardo Del Real and sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging deliberate indifference by Del Real's prison officials, causing his death from a staph infection at the French Robertson Unit.
Appellee Robert Eason was the former senior warden of the French Robertson Unit and allegedly responsible for Del Real's safety and medical needs.
The trial court granted no-evidence and traditional motions for summary judgment in favor of Eason, disposing of federal claims against him and severing state-law claims.
The severed federal case was assigned Cause Number 022205, while the remaining state-law claims were dismissed against Eason.
Appellants challenged the summary judgment on § 1983 claims, arguing Eason acted with deliberate indifference and was not shielded by qualified immunity.
The appellate court affirmed, concluding appellants offered no competent summary judgment evidence to raise a genuine material fact issue.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Eason is entitled to qualified immunity as a matter of law	Del Real's heirs contend Eason violated clearly established rights.	Eason, as supervisor, is shielded by qualified immunity absent personal involvement or policy causation.	Granted; summary judgment affirmed on qualified immunity grounds.
Whether there is a genuine issue of material fact that Eason acted with deliberate indifference	Evidence supports deliberate indifference to medical needs and safety.	No competent summary judgment evidence shows deliberate indifference.	No; appellants failed to create a fact issue; judgment affirmed.

Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994) (deliberate indifference standard for prison officials)
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976) (medical needs actionable under Eighth Amendment)
Gobert v. Caldwell, 468 F.3d 346 (5th Cir. 2006) (deliberate indifference is a high standard)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) (claims must be supported by sufficient factual allegations)
Oliver v. Scott, 276 F.3d 736 (5th Cir. 2002) (supervisory liability requires personal involvement or causal link)
Thompkins v. Belt, 828 F.2d 304 (5th Cir. 1987) (supervisor liability theory under § 1983)
Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez, 206 S.W.3d 572 (Tex. 2006) (no-evidence summary judgment standard)
Ridgway v. Walmart Stores, Inc., 135 S.W.3d 598 (Tex. 2004) (standard for no-evidence summary judgment)
City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802 (Tex. 2005) (standards for evidence review in summary judgments)
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Rodriguez, 92 S.W.3d 502 (Tex. 2002) (standard for reviewing no-evidence motions)