The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday partially revived a civil rights lawsuit brought by an incarcerated person in Michigan, finding that his First Amendment rights were violated and he was retaliated against for complaining about an industrial fan that blew excessively cold air into his cell.

The three-judge panel found that Bernard Antoine Hardrick's speech about the conditions in his cell during the COVID-19 pandemic was protected, but also held that the conditions in quarantine, while hazardous, did not constitute a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights.

The panel found that because incarcerated people have an "undisputed" First Amendment right to complain about the conditions on their own behalf, Hardrick's speech was protected — even though prison officials determined his complaints could not be handled through its agency grievance process.

"We have repeatedly emphasized that retaliation claims should go to a jury unless they suffer from a clear legal defect such as a lack of causation, or the adverse action alleged is 'truly 'inconsequential,'" the unsigned opinion said. "Hence, the district court erred in dismissing Hardrick's First Amendment retaliation claim and granting Warden [Erica] Huss qualified immunity. We reverse that ruling and remand for further proceedings on this claim."

Hardrick claims that prison officials required him to live in hazardous conditions, across the hall from a large fan that produced excessively cold air and in a unit with COVID-positive incarcerated people, despite not having tested positive for the virus himself.

Hardrick was moved into the unit after being labeled a "person under investigation" by the health officials at the facility due to his unwillingness to take COVID tests. The label was typically reserved for those who test positive for the virus, though Hardrick tested negative twice and at some point began refusing weekly testing, the opinion said.

The air conditioning system in the new housing unit blew cold air and debris, including dust and saliva from other inmates, which Hardrick said made him cough up blood and experience other physical symptoms, the opinion said.

The opinion said Hardrick complained about the conditions to the prison through its internal complaint system, though the complaints about his housing and the fan were rejected for being "not specific" and applying to "the prison population as a whole."

Hardrick next began complaining to prison staff, and later elevated his issues directly to Warden Erica Huss, who he claimed explicitly refused to address his complaints because Hardrick had filed grievances against the prison, and refused to take COVID tests, the opinion said.

The opinion does not specify why Hardrick refused to take weekly COVID tests, though it said he continued to file grievances maintaining that he was being incorrectly housed with COVID patients.

Hardrick was eventually moved to a different cell, away from the fan, though he claimed he was still in danger of contracting COVID because his new unit was "infested" with COVID, the opinion said. After several failed attempts to grieve his housing, Hardrick filed this pro se lawsuit in federal court alleging violations of his First and Eighth amendment rights.

A U.S. district judge ruled that prison officials should be covered under qualified immunity because Hardrick failed to plead a proper constitutional claim, and as a result the lawsuit was tossed, the opinion said.

Hardrick appealed, and while the panel found that his First Amendment claims should be allowed to survive the pleading stage of the lawsuit, the Eighth Amendment claims failed as he only alleged a risk of future harm of COVID exposure, not that he actually contracted the disease, the opinion said

A spokesperson for the Michigan attorney general who represented the prison officials did not respond to a request for comment. Contact information for Hardrick was not available.

U.S. Circuit Judges Alan E. Norris, Karen Nelson Moore and Rachel S. Bloomekatz sat on the panel for the Sixth Circuit.

Hardrick is representing himself.

The government is represented by Sara E. Trudgeon of the Office of the Michigan Attorney General.

The case is Hardrick v. Huss et al., case number 24-1456, in the U.S. District Court for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

--Editing by Linda Voorhis.