A nonsmoking inmate filed a lawsuit pro se, alleging that, over a two-year period, he was exposed to secondhand smoke which caused him various medical ailments. A federal judge ruled that “the injuries alleged by Mr. Brooks, if proven, are sufficient to warrant recovery.”  The judge also ruled that it was appropriate for the magistrate judge to take judicial notice of the June 2006 report of the Surgeon General on the health hazards of secondhand smoke.  The court thus denied the summary judgment motion of the defendant prison officials.

2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19736 (U.S.D.C. W.D. La. 2010).