Holladay v. Avery

Full title: DOUGLAS HOLLADAY, Plaintiff, v. CARL AVERY et al., Defendants

Court: United States District Court, D. Utah, Central Division

Date published: Jun 8, 2004

Case No. 2:04-CV-268 TS (D. Utah Jun. 8, 2004)

Opinion

Case No. 2:04-CV-268 TS.

June 8, 2004

ORDER

BRIAN TED STEWART, District Judge

Plaintiff/inmate, Douglas Holladay, has filed a civil rights complaint. See 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West Supp. 2003). Plaintiff asserts that Utah State Prison staff violated his constitutional rights regarding an incident in which he was given an overdose of seizure medication, put in solitary confinement, then assigned a top bunk from which he fell and injured himself.

To proceed with his lawsuit, Plaintiff must have exhausted his claims in the prison grievance process. See id. § 1997e(a) (2003) ("No action shall be brought with respect to prison conditions under section 1983 of this title, or any other Federal Law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted."). However, Plaintiff's complaint does not state he met this condition.

Section 1997e(a) prescribes a pleading prerequisite for prisoners. See Steele v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 355 F.3d 1204, 1210 (10th Cir. 2003). Consequently, a complaint that does not allege the necessary exhaustion of administrative remedies "'is tantamount to one that fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.'" Id. (quoting Rivera v. Allin, 144 F.3d 719, 731 (11th Cir. 1998)). A prisoner plaintiff is required to

(1) plead his claims with "a short and plain statement . . . showing that [he] is entitled to relief," in compliance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2), and (2) "attach a copy of the applicable administrative dispositions to the complaint, or, in the absence of written documentation, describe with specificity the administrative proceeding and its outcome."

Id. (alterations in original) (quoting Knuckles El v. Toombs, 215 F.3d 640, 642 (6th Cir. 2000)). Absent "'particularized averments concerning exhaustion showing the nature of the administrative proceeding and its outcome, the action must be dismissed under § 1997e.'" Id. at 1211 (quotingKnuckles El, 215 F.3d at 642).

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff's complaint is dismissed without prejudice. See id. at 1213 ("A dismissal based on lack of exhaustion . . . should ordinarily be without prejudice.")