Opinion ID: 787444
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exhaustion of Claim against Testman

Text: 17 We next consider whether Johnson's appeal of his disciplinary conviction sufficed to exhaust his claim against defendant Testman. This inquiry presents two related questions. First, was complaining about Testman's conduct through a disciplinary appeal sufficient to comply with BOP regulations, or was Johnson required to file a separate grievance against Testman? Second, was the content of Johnson's submissions in the disciplinary appeal process enough to put prison officials on notice of Johnson's concerns about Testman's role in Franco's assault? For the reasons that follow, we remand these questions to the district court for further consideration. 18 In Giano v. Goord, 380 F.3d 670, 2004 WL 1842652, we today concluded that New York Department of Correctional Services (NY DOCS) regulations governing grievance procedures were unclear. We held that, in the particular circumstances of that case, it was reasonable for the plaintiff to have raised his complaints through the disciplinary appeals process rather than by filing a separate grievance. In Hemphill v. New York Dep't of Corr. Servs., 380 F.3d 680, 2004 WL 1842658, also decided today, we remanded the case to the district court so that it might consider, inter alia, whether the allegedly confusing nature of N.Y. DOCS regulations justified the plaintiff's failure to file a grievance in the manner that DOCS officials now prescribe. Here, Johnson contends that because under BOP regulations the appellate process for disciplinary rulings and for grievances is one and the same, he reasonably believed that raising his complaints during his disciplinary appeal sufficed to exhaust his available administrative remedies. 19 Johnson's argument cannot be dismissed out of hand, especially since the district court has not had the opportunity to examine it. But before we determine how best to deal with this argument, we must ask whether Johnson's submissions in the disciplinary process were sufficient, in a substantive sense, to exhaust his remedies under § 1997e(a). 20 The PLRA's exhaustion requirement is designed to afford [ ] corrections officials time and opportunity to address complaints internally before allowing the initiation of a federal case. Porter, 534 U.S. at 524-25, 122 S.Ct. 983. As such, it is not dissimilar to the rules of notice pleading, which prescribe that a complaint must contain allegations sufficient to alert the defendants to the nature of the claim and to allow them to defend against it. Freedom Holdings, Inc. v. Spitzer, 357 F.3d 205, 234 (2d Cir.2004). Thus, the Seventh Circuit has held that, if prison regulations do not prescribe any particular content for inmate grievances, a grievance suffices if it alerts the prison to the nature of the wrong for which redress is sought. As in a notice pleading system, the grievant need not lay out the facts, articulate legal theories, or demand particular relief. All the grievance need do is object intelligibly to some asserted shortcoming. Strong v. David, 297 F.3d 646, 650 (7th Cir.2002). 21 We believe that this formulation is a sound one. Uncounselled inmates navigating prison administrative procedures without assistance cannot be expected to satisfy a standard more stringent than that of notice pleading. Still, the PLRA's exhaustion requirement does require that prison officials be afford[ed]... time and opportunity to address complaints internally. Porter, 534 U.S. at 524-25, 122 S.Ct. 983. In order to exhaust, therefore, inmates must provide enough information about the conduct of which they complain to allow prison officials to take appropriate responsive measures. 22 Here, the plaintiff's initial answer in his disciplinary proceeding did not mention Testman or his remark to Franco. In Johnson's regional appeal, however, in the course of arguing that the altercation with Franco was not Johnson's fault, Johnson described Testman's statement to Franco that if you have a problem with it take it up with Johnson. Johnson's Central Office appeal included a similar description. But prison officials' responses to Johnson's appeals do not indicate that the officials considered Johnson's disciplinary appeal to be a complaint about Testman's conduct. And the defendants argue that Johnson's passing references to Testman's remark afforded prison authorities no way of knowing that Johnson believed Testman was culpable for inciting Franco's assault. On the other hand, the plaintiff contends that his submissions clearly described Testman's conduct, and that prison officials had all the information necessary to launch an investigation into whether Testman had provoked Franco to attack the plaintiff. 23 Whether or not Johnson's disciplinary appeals was enough to alert [ ] the prison to the nature of the wrong for which redress is sought, Strong, 297 F.3d at 650, is not manifestly obvious. It is also a question that the district court has not yet had an opportunity to consider. Under the circumstances, we deem it appropriate to remand the issue to that court. And, since a remand is called for, we believe it wise to have the district court also examine, in the first instance, whether, in light of our reasoning in Giano and Hemphill, the BOP grievance regulations were sufficiently confusing so that a prisoner like Johnson might reasonably have believed that he could raise his claim against Testman as part of his defense in disciplinary proceedings. 24 On remand, the district court should therefore determine, in whatever sequence it deems appropriate, (1) whether Johnson was justified in raising his complaint about Testman through a disciplinary appeal, rather than by filing a separate grievance, and (2) whether Johnson's descriptions, in his disciplinary appeals, of Testman's conduct, can be construed as afford[ing] corrections officials time and opportunity to address complaints internally. Porter, 534 U.S at 525, 122 S.Ct. 983.