## Facts

- Tyrone Moore, a Michigan state prisoner, was HIV-positive and incarcerated at the Cotton Correctional Facility.
- Moore submitted a medical request form seeking evaluation for a sexually transmitted disease.
- Nurse Rebecca Prevo responded on the form in writing that Moore was HIV-positive and returned it through the cell door “food slot,” where Moore alleged other inmates could see it.
- Moore alleged Prevo also told another inmate that Moore was HIV-positive.
- Moore alleged Inspector L. Brown asked another prisoner whether he knew Moore had a sexually transmitted disease, and that Officer Satterlee was involved in the disclosures.
- Moore claimed the disclosures were intentional, gratuitous, and unsupported by any legitimate penological or medical justification.
- Moore alleged that other inmates learned his HIV status, causing fear for his safety, humiliation, and emotional distress.
- Moore filed a pro se action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging a constitutional violation based on disclosure of medical information; the district court dismissed at screening for failure to state a claim under the PLRA.

## Issues

1. Whether allegations that prison officials intentionally disclosed an inmate’s HIV status to other inmates without legitimate penological justification state a constitutional claim under § 1983.
2. Whether prisoners retain a constitutionally protected interest in avoiding disclosure of highly sensitive medical information such as HIV status.
3. Whether alleged disclosures to other inmates are treated differently from disclosures to correctional staff for purposes of an informational privacy claim.

## Decision

- The court affirmed dismissal of claims based on disclosure of Moore’s HIV status to correctional staff.
- The court reversed dismissal of claims based on disclosure of Moore’s HIV status to other inmates.
- The court remanded for further proceedings on the surviving informational privacy claim concerning inmate-to-inmate disclosure.
- Applying the failure-to-state-a-claim standard, the court accepted Moore’s factual allegations as true and drew reasonable inferences in his favor.

## Legal Principles

- The Constitution protects an interest in avoiding disclosure of personal matters, including certain medical information.
- Prisoners retain a limited right to informational privacy, qualified by legitimate penological and administrative interests.
- Courts evaluate informational privacy claims by balancing the individual’s interest in confidentiality against the government’s asserted interest in disclosure.
- HIV status is highly sensitive medical information; allegations of gratuitous disclosure to other inmates, without justification, can state a claim.
- Disclosure of medical information to correctional staff may be justified by institutional safety and operational needs and, on the alleged facts, did not state a constitutional violation.

## Conclusion

The Sixth Circuit held that Moore plausibly alleged an unconstitutional invasion of informational privacy where officials allegedly disclosed his HIV status to other inmates for no legitimate penological reason, but it rejected his claim to the extent it relied on disclosures to correctional staff and remanded for further proceedings on the inmate-disclosure theory.


Moore v. Prevo, 379 F. App’x 425 (6th Cir. 2010)