On March 17, 2011, plaintiff Samuel Anderson, an inmate in his 60s, had his pain medication changed while at High Desert State Prison, in Susanville. As a result of diabetes, Anderson suffered neuropathic nerve pain, which was managed. He also suffered from chronic lower back pain as a result of severe scoliosis, which was initially managed with a low dosage of an opioid medication, morphine sulfate. However, on March 17, 2011, a physician discontinued the morphine in favor of Tramadol, another pain medication. Anderson claimed that the Tramadol was ineffective in managing his pain, and he requested an increase in the dosage of Tramadol. As a result, his case was referred to a pain specialist in October 2011. Anderson’s psychotropic medication, Remeron, ran out on Dec. 25, 2011, and was eventually refilled on Jan. 11, 2012. Later, and the chief physician and surgeon, Bonnie Lee, decided to discontinue Anderson’s Tramadol in favor of Tylenol and other non-opioid modalities. The chief medical officer, Dorothy Swingle, authorized the change in medication. (Swingle and Lee were both on the pain management committee at the prison on Feb. 28, 2012, and March 19, 2012.) Anderson allegedly refused the Tylenol and non-opioid modalities, and filed a lawsuit, seeking to enjoin the prison authorities to reintroduce the opioid for his pain management. As a result, Swingle and Lee re-introduced Tramadol in June 2012. In August 2012, Anderson was transferred to a different institution, and the treating physician placed him on methadone. Anderson claimed that while at High Desert, his chronic lower back pain was inappropriately treated, despite his complaints that the changes to his mediation were ineffective. Anderson sued the prison’s receiver, J. Clark Kelso; the chief physician and surgeon, Bonnie Lee; the chief medical officer, Dorothy Swingle; a medical technical assistant, [first name unknown] Stovall, who allegedly ordered Anderson’s psychotropic medication; and several other individuals. Anderson alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted a violation of his civil rights under the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Kelso and several other individual defendants were dismissed from the case. Thus, the matter continued against Lee, Swingle, and Stovall only. Anderson claimed that while at High Desert, he complained that Tramadol, a low dosage opioid, was ineffective in managing his pain and that instead of titrating the morphine upwards, it was discontinued. He also claimed that, later, instead of reintroducing the morphine, the Tramadol was discontinued and he was only given Tylenol for pain management. In addition, he claimed that Bonnie Lee approved of the withdrawal. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that that Lee, Swingle and Stovall were deliberately indifferent to Anderson’s pain, causing Anderson emotional distress. Specifically, counsel contended that Swingle and Lee failed to provide appropriate pain medication to Anderson and that Stovall failed to obtain a bridging order for Anderson’s psychotropic medication when his psychotropic drugs elapsed. The plaintiff’s pain management expert opined that Lee, Swingle and Stovall ignored Anderson’s pain, or minimized it, and failed to treat Anderson’s pain the way it should be treated. Specifically, the expert opined that Anderson’s pain should have been treated by starting him at a low dose of mediation and then gradually increasing the dosage until the pain was stable, and that only thereafter should the dosage be adjusted. Defense counsel argued that the manner in which Anderson’s pain was managed did not exhibit deliberate indifference to his medical needs. Instead, counsel contended that there was a difference of opinion between the physicians on the best way to manage Anderson’s pain., Anderson claimed that his pain was managed with narcotics, but that he experienced pain and suffering when he was not given the medication. He also claimed that the defendants’ indifference to his pain caused him emotional distress. Thus, Anderson sought recovery for his emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.