Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-01510/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-01510-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 555
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Prison Condition
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

RANDALL OSORIO, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) CIV 05-1510 PHX FJM (MEA)

)

JOSEPH ARPAIO, ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

)

 Defendant. )

_________________________________)

Pending before the court is Defendant’s Motion to

Dismiss (Doc. #9).

I.

Plaintiff filed a pro se complaint (Doc. #1) on May 20,

2005, alleging violation of his civil rights by Defendant while

detained at a Maricopa County jail facility. On June 13, 2005,

the court ordered Defendant to answer Plaintiff’s allegation

that Defendant violated Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment rights by

providing him with inadequate and undercooked food and by

subjecting him to overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions.

Doc. #3. Plaintiff’s complaint seeks injunctive relief and

monetary damages.

 Defendant waived service, see Doc. #8, and filed a

motion to dismiss on October 17, 2005. Doc. #9. Defendant

asserts that the complaint must be dismissed, pursuant to 42

Case 2:05-cv-01510-FJM-MEA Document 13 Filed 01/11/06 Page 1 of 4
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U.S.C. § 1997e, because Plaintiff failed to exhaust his

administrative remedies under the Maricopa County jail grievance

process before filing his section 1983 action. 

 In an order (Doc. #11) dated October 20, 2005,

Plaintiff was advised that his failure to respond to the motion

to dismiss within thirty days could be deemed consent to the

entry of judgment against Plaintiff, pursuant to LRCiv 7.2. No

response has been received

II.

In deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6),

the court must take the factual allegations of the complaint as

true and construe them in the light most favorable to the

plaintiff. See Galbraith v. County of Santa Clara, 307 F.3d

1119, 1121 (9th Cir. 2002); Epstein v. Washington Energy Co., 83

F.3d 1136, 1140 (9th Cir. 1996). Additionally, pro se

complaints are held to a less strict standard than those drafted

by counsel. See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976). 

Exhaustion of administrative remedies under the Prison

Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) is governed by 42 U.S.C. §

1997e(a), which provides that “[n]o 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.” 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a)

(2003 & Supp. 2005).

A plaintiff must fully exhaust his administrative

remedies before filing a section 1983 complaint. McKinney v.

Carey, 311 F.3d 1198, 1199-1200 (9th Cir. 2002). Exhaustion is

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an affirmative defense; establishing exhaustion of

administrative remedies under the PLRA is not a pleading

requirement or a jurisdictional prerequisite. See Wyatt v.

Terhune, 315 F.3d 1108, 1119 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 124 S.

Ct. 50 (2003); Giano v. Goord, 380 F.3d 670, 675 (2d Cir. 2004).

Therefore, Defendant has “the burden of raising and proving the

absence of exhaustion.” Wyatt, 315 F.3d at 1119. The failure

to exhaust administrative remedies under the PLRA is treated as

a matter in abatement and is properly raised in an unenumerated

Rule 12(b) motion. Id. “In deciding a motion to dismiss for a

failure to exhaust nonjudicial remedies, the court may look

beyond the pleadings and decide disputed issues of fact.” Id.

at 1119-20. “If the district court concludes that the prisoner

has not exhausted nonjudicial remedies, the proper remedy is

dismissal of the claim without prejudice.” Id. at 1120.

Detainees complaining about the conditions encountered

at a Maricopa County jail facility may pursue an administrative

grievance in accordance with the three-step process outlined in

the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Policy and Procedure

manual. Doc. #9, Exh. A. Defendant asserts that Plaintiff did

not exhaust his administrative remedies with regard to any

complaint regarding the living conditions in a Marciopa County

jail facility because he did not initiate any grievance

regarding any of his claims while incarcerated in a Maricopa

County jail facility. Id. at 3 & Exh. B.

The evidence presented by Defendant establishes that

administrative remedies were available to Plaintiff and that

Plaintiff failed to properly pursue them.

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Moreover, LRCiv 7.2 provides that a party’s failure to

respond to a motion may, in the court’s discretion, be deemed a

consent to the court’s granting of judgment in favor of the

movant. See Brydges v. Lewis, 18 F.3d 651, 652-53 (9th Cir.

1994). See also Ghazali v. Moran, 46 F.3d 52, 53-54 (9th Cir.

1995)(holding that the district court did not abuse its

discretion by summarily granting the defendants’ motion to

dismiss pursuant to a local rule where the pro se plaintiff had

time to respond to the motion but failed to do so). 

 Plaintiff does not contest Defendant’s assertion that

he has failed to fulfill a prerequisite to filing his section

1983 complaint. Therefore, Plaintiff has failed to plead facts

which establish that he has stated a claim for relief.

THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED THAT Defendants’ Motion to

Dismiss (Docket No. 9) is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s complaint is

hereby dismissed without prejudice. 

DATED this 11th day of January, 2006.

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