Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-02788/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-02788-5/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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Plaintiff named Tipten as a Defendant (Doc. 1), but Defendants’ filings reflect that

the correct spelling of Defendant’s name is Tipton (see Docs. 20, 35).

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Plaintiff is currently housed at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman, Cook Unit

in Florence, Arizona (Docs. 8-9).

WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

ANDY CHARLES BODIE 

Plaintiff, 

vs.

TIPTEN, et al.

Defendants. 

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No. CV 10-2788-PHX-RCB (ECV)

ORDER

Plaintiff Andy Charles Bodie brought this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983

against Pinal County Detention Officers Roland Tipton and Lawrence Lockhart (Doc. 1).1

Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, Motion for

Summary Judgment for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies (Doc. 35), which

Plaintiff opposes (Doc. 38).

The Court will grant the motion and terminate the action.

I. Background

 Plaintiff’s claims arose during his confinement at the Pinal County Jail in Florence,

Arizona (Doc. 1 at 1).2

 In his Complaint, Plaintiff explained that he is Navajo and it is part

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of the Navajo religious tradition for adherents to keep their hair, which they consider to be

sacred (id. at 3). Plaintiff averred that when strands of his hair fell out while he was at the

jail, he saved the hair to send to his niece so that she could burn it with medicinal herbs as

part of Navajo religious practice (id.). 

In Count I of his pleading, Plaintiff alleged that during a cell search on September 29,

2010, Tipton took the hair that Plaintiff had been saving. Plaintiff claimed that when he

asked Tipton to let him keep the hair, Tipton told him that he could return the hair only if the

“Top Official” approved it, otherwise, the hair would be thrown away. According to

Plaintiff, Tipton advised him to send a kite to Chaplain Mike to obtain permission to keep

the hair. Plaintiff claimed that he submitted a grievance to one of the Top Officials but was

told that since he did not indicate his religious preference to the booking officer, there was

nothing that could be done and the hair could not be kept. Plaintiff averred that he asked

several times if he could the grieve the issue, but he was ignored.

In Count II, Plaintiff alleged that upon his return from court on October 14, 2010,

Lockhart checked Plaintiff’s cell and took hair that Plaintiff had been saving. Plaintiff stated

that he requested a grievance form but Lockhart refused and told Plaintiff the grievance

would not be accepted anyway because the Navajo ritual of saving hair was an unknown

practice.

The Court screened Plaintiff’s Complaint and determined that his allegations stated

claims for violations of his religious rights under the Religious Land Use and

Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc-2000cc-5, and under the First

Amendment (Doc. 14). 

Defendants now move for dismissal or summary judgment on the ground that Plaintiff

failed to exhaust administrative remedies as required under the Prison Litigation Reform Act

(PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a) (Doc. 35).

II. Exhaustion Legal Standard 

Exhaustion is a matter in abatement, which is properly raised in an unenumerated Rule

12(b) motion to dismiss rather than a motion for summary judgment. Wyatt v. Terhune, 315

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F.3d 1108, 1119 (9th Cir. 2003). This is because summary judgment is on the merits,

whereas dismissal for nonexhaustion is not. Id. Defendants’ motion will therefore be

construed as an unenumerated Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss.

Under the PLRA, an inmate must exhaust available administrative remedies before

bringing a federal action. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a); Griffin v. Arpaio, 557 F.3d 1117, 1119

(9th Cir. 2009). Exhaustion is required for all suits about prison or jail life, Porter v. Nussle,

534 U.S. 516, 523 (2002), regardless of the type of relief offered through the administrative

process, Booth v. Churner, 532 U.S. 731, 741 (2001). An inmate must complete the

administrative review process in accordance with the applicable rules. See Woodford v.

Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 92 (2006). 

Exhaustion is an affirmative defense. Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 212 (2007). Thus,

the defendant bears the burden of raising and proving the absence of exhaustion. Wyatt, 315

F.3d at 1119. Because exhaustion is a matter in abatement in an unenumerated Rule 12(b)

motion, a court may look beyond the pleadings to decide disputed issues of fact. Id. at 1119-

20. When doing so, a court has broad discretion as to the method to be used in resolving the

factual dispute. Ritza v. Int’l Longshoremen’s & Warehousemen’s Union, 837 F.2d 365, 369

(9th Cir. 1988) (quotation omitted). If a court finds that the plaintiff failed to exhaust

administrative remedies, the proper remedy is dismissal without prejudice. Wyatt, 315 F.3d

at 1120. 

III. Parties’ Contentions

A. Defendants’ Motion

In support of their claim that Plaintiff failed to exhaust remedies, Defendants submit

the affidavit of Nicole Youssef, a Grievance Officer at the Pinal County Jail (Doc. 35, Ex. 1,

Youssef Aff. ¶ 2). Youssef describes the four levels of the jail’s grievance process: (1) the

informal grievance process; (2) the formal grievance process; (3) the first level of appeal; and

(4) the second level of appeal (id. ¶¶ 5-8). In the informal grievance process, an inmate must

attempt to resolve his complaint through informal means with staff in the area (id. ¶ 5(a)(iii)). If the issue is not resolved, the Unit Supervisor completes an Informal Resolution Form

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The Court issued a Notice required under Wyatt, 315 F.3d at 1120 n. 14, which

informs pro se prisoner litigants of the obligation to respond to motions seeking dismissal for

failure to exhaust (Doc. 37). 

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with the inmate to discuss the complaint (id. ¶ 5(a)(iii)). If the complaint is not resolved with

the Unit Supervisor, the inmate may proceed to the formal grievance process by filing a

Formal Grievance Form, which is provided by the Shift Supervisor (id. ¶ 8(a)(i)). The

Grievance Officer responds to the formal grievance, and if the inmate is not satisfied, he may

proceed to the two levels of appeal (id. ¶ 8(a)(iv)). The first level appeal is responded to by

the Command Staff (id.). If the inmate is not satisfied with that response, he may submit a

second and final level appeal to the Grievance Officer (id.). 

Youssef avers that she reviewed the grievance files and found no record that Plaintiff

filed any grievances related to the incidents that allegedly occurred on September 29 and

October 14, 2010 (id. ¶ 10). 

Defendants also submit the affidavit of Tonya Delgado, a Sergeant at the Pinal County

Jail (id., Ex. 2, Delgado Aff. ¶¶ 2-3). Delgado states that during the jail’s orientation process,

each inmate is provided with a copy of the Institutional Inmate Handbook, which includes

the grievance procedures (id. ¶ 7). She avers that on August 27, 2010, she presented an

orientation during which she provided the information contained in the Handbook (id. ¶ 9).

Attached to Delgado’s affidavit is a copy of the orientation roster for the August 27, 2010,

which includes Plaintiff’s signature (id., Ex. 2). 

Defendants contend that this evidence demonstrates that Plaintiff did not seek any

informal resolution or file any grievance or appeals related to his claims (Doc. 35 at 4). They

also note that in his Complaint, Plaintiff admitted that he did not file any appeals to the final

level (id.). For these reasons, Defendants request that the Complaint be dismissed (id.).

B. Plaintiff’s Response3

In response, Plaintiff asserts that when he requested help with the grievance

procedures, Defendants advised him that he must submit a kite/inmate letter to obtain a

grievance form (Doc. 38 at 1). He explains that, with assistance from another inmate—Jerry

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In addition to his own declaration, Plaintiff submits the declaration of another inmate,

Jose A. Zepeda (Doc. 38, Ex. B), and copies of discovery requests (id., Ex. C). The Court

finds that Zepeda’s declaration statements, although they each state “I personally know,” do

not establish the basis of Zepeda’s personal knowledge (see id., Ex. B, Zepeda Decl. ¶¶ 5-9).

For example, he does not declare that he was present and personally observed certain actions

by Plaintiff or Pinal County Jail staff. Absent a showing of personal knowledge, the Court

will not consider the declaration, and the discovery requests are not relevant to the motion.

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Guerri—he was able to file a grievance form or letter and other inmates helped him prepare

letters to the paralegal, the chaplain, and to the courts (id., Ex. A, Pl. Decl. ¶ 7). Plaintiff also

states that he spoke with a female grievance coordinator, a chaplain, and a paralegal after

they pulled him out of his cell and told him that there was nothing they could do for him so

he should drop the grievance (id. ¶ 8).4

 Plaintiff concludes that the exhaustion issue delays this case and averts attention

away from Defendants’ violation of his religious rights, for which they should be held

accountable (Doc. 38 at 2-3).

C. Defendants’ Reply

In their reply, Defendants argue that Plaintiff cannot show that he fully exhausted the

grievance procedures and that his responses regarding exhaustion are contradictory (Doc. 40

at 1-2). They point to Plaintiff’s “Motion to Object to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and/or

for Summary Judgment” (Doc. 29), which Plaintiff filed in response to Defendants’ request

for leave to submit their Motion to Dismiss (see Doc. 25). Defendants assert that in his

Motion to Object, Plaintiff claimed to have filed an Inmate Request Form and spoken with

a grievance official and unit supervisor (Doc. 40 at 2, citing Doc. 29 at 4). Defendants

compare that claim to the claim in Plaintiff’s subsequent response memorandum, where he

asserts that he submitted a grievance form or letter with the help of another inmate (Doc. 40

at 2, citing Doc. 38 at 1). Defendants note that an Inmate Request Form is not a grievance

form, and they contend that even assuming that Plaintiff’s contact with a grievance official

or unit supervisor satisfied the initial informal grievance process, there is no evidence that

he proceed to the formal grievance process by filing an Inmate Grievance Form (Doc. 40 at

2). 

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Defendants further contend that even if Plaintiff had submitted an Inmate Grievance

Form as he now claims, he failed to proceed to the first and second appeal levels of the

grievance process and he therefore failed to properly exhaust remedies (id. at 3-4).

IV. Analysis

As stated, Defendants must demonstrate that there were remedies available to

Plaintiff. See Wyatt, 315 F.3d at 1119; see also Brown v. Valoff, 422 F.3d 926, 936-37 (9th

Cir. 2005). Plaintiff was only required to exhaust available remedies. Brown, 422 F.3d at

936-37. The PLRA’s exhaustion requirement is not absolute, and certain facts may justify

exceptions where remedies were effectively unavailable. Nunez v. Duncan, 591 F.3d 1217,

1223-24 (9th Cir. 2010). Here, Plaintiff does not dispute that he failed to exhaust all levels

of the Pinal County Jail’s grievance system; however, he maintains that remedies were

effectively unavailable. 

Contrary to Defendants’ contention, Plaintiff asserted in both his Motion to Object

and his response memorandum that he submitted a grievance form (Doc. 29 at 4; Doc. 38 at

1, Ex. A, Pl. Decl. ¶ 7). Plaintiff also consistently alleged—in his Complaint, Motion to

Object, and response memorandum—that he spoke to a female grievance coordinator official

who advised him that there was nothing that could be done for him and he should drop the

grievance (Doc. 1 at 3; Doc. 29 at 4; Doc. 38, Ex. A, Pl. Decl. ¶ 8). But Plaintiff does not

identify this grievance official, nor does he indicate the specific date he spoke to her.

Plaintiff also fails to explain why he did not proceed to the appeal level of the process after

receiving this response from the grievance official. Further, while Plaintiff asserted in his

Complaint that he tried several times to grieve the issue (Doc. 1 at 3), in his subsequent

filings, he fails to provide any specific facts describing those attempts to grieve, such as who

he spoke to or requested forms from or when the attempts took place. 

In his response, Plaintiff posits that Defendants fail to address grievances as a means

to deny Native American inmates their religious rights (Doc. 38 at 2). But the grievance

procedures provide that if there is no response at any level in the grievance process, the

inmate may move to the next step in the process (Doc. 35, Ex. 1, Policy 4.3 § 4.3.2.7).

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Again, Plaintiff does not provide a reason for his failure to proceed to the next step after

receiving no relief at the initial levels of the grievance process. 

Plaintiff also suggests that he did not fully understand the grievance system and that

the grievance procedures were not sufficiently explained at orientation (Doc. 29 at 3; Doc.

38 at 1-2). He states that his education did not extend beyond elementary school (Doc. 38,

Ex. A, Pl. Decl. ¶ 7). But Plaintiff acknowledges that he received the Inmate Handbook, that

he received assistance from other inmates, and that he had access to the paralegal (id.; Doc.

29 at 3). In addition, the Court finds that Plaintiff has sufficiently articulated his claims and

capably presented arguments in response to Defendants’ motions. Thus, there is no evidence

that remedies were effectively unavailable due to Plaintiff’s inability to navigate the

grievance process. 

Finally, Plaintiff contends that given the merits of his claim, fairness dictates that his

Complaint should not be dismissed (Doc. 38 at 3). But the exhaustion requirement is

mandatory, and a prisoner’s failure to properly exhaust remedies for his claim results in a

complete bar to any federal litigation arising out of that claim, even if is meritorious. See

Porter, 534 U.S. at 524; see also Woodford, 548 U.S. at 117-18 (J. Stevens, dissenting)

(noting that the exhaustion requirement may result in harsh and seemingly unjust

results—namely, an inmate’s inability to pursue a valid and meritorious claim). 

On the record before the Court, Defendants have demonstrated that Plaintiff did not

exhaust administrative remedies for either count in his Complaint. The Motion to Dismiss

will therefore be granted, and the action will be dismissed without prejudice.

IT IS ORDERED:

(1) The reference to the Magistrate Judge is withdrawn as to Defendants’ Motion to

Dismiss for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies (Doc. 35).

(2) Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 35) is granted.

. . .

(3) The Clerk of Court must enter judgment accordingly and terminate this action.

DATED this 7th day of November, 2011.

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