A prisoner filed a civil rights action, alleging that defendants had knowledge of and disregarded the excessive risk to his health occasioned by their longstanding failure to enforce the no-smoking policy, in violation of his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.  The plaintiff had filed over twenty formal inmate grievances over violations of the prison’s no-smoking policy.  The court ruled that the pro se plaintiff did provide enough facts in his complaint to allege properly an Eighth Amendment violation. Defendants’ motion to dismiss is allowed as to certain named defendants but denied as to others.  Plaintiff will also be “allowed to amend his pleadings  to attempt to set forth properly his retaliation and conspiracy claims.

2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13143 (U.S.D.C. S.D. N.Y. 2000).