This case is distinguishable from Barker v. Belleque, where the plaintiff attested that the proper form was not available to him. No. CIV. 10-0093-AA, 2011 WL 285228, at *4 (D. Or. Jan. 26, 2011).
If so, it is possible that administrative remedies were effectively unavailable to him. See Barker v. Belleque, No. CIV. 10-0093-AA, 2011 WL 285228 at *4 (D. Or. Jan. 26, 2011) (administrative remedies effectively unavailable where agency refused to process appeal filed on wrong form). Alternatively, given that IGRP procedures explicitly state that initial complaints may be submitted on plain paper when the proper form is unavailable, Houston might have reasonably assumed that the same rule applied to appeals.