Huskey v. Jones, et al, No. 19-60588 (5th Cir. 2022)
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Plaintiff brought suit against Defendants for conduct that occurred during his incarceration at the Mississippi State Penitentiary. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants, and Plaintiff appealed. The Fifth Circuit remanded to the district court for a factual inquiry into the timeliness of Plaintiff’s Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment under Rule 59(e). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e). The district court determined that Plaintiff’s appeal was not time-barred; thus, the court held they have jurisdiction.
The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings. Plaintiff acknowledges that the PLRA prohibits an inmate from bringing suit until he exhausts the administrative remedies that are available. He argues, however, that he satisfied Section 1997e(a) by exhausting the remedies available to him because he followed the grievance policy set forth in the 2015 Mississippi Department of Corrections (“MDOC”) Standard Operating Procedures (“2015 SOP”) and had no knowledge of or access to the revised handbook that listed the claims ARP director’s reason for rejection.
Here, viewed light most favorable to Plaintiff, this evidence satisfies the unavailability exception under Ross because the “administrative scheme [was] so opaque that it bec[ame], practically speaking, incapable of use” by an “ordinary prisoner.” Ross, 578 U.S. at 644. Accordingly, the court held that Defendants are not entitled to summary judgment because there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether administrative remedies were made available to Plaintiff.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on June 15, 2021.
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