Opinion ID: 787440
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Status of Ortiz's Claims

Text: 24 All parties agree, as do we, that Ortiz has exhausted his available administrative remedies with respect to his due process claim. He appealed the Tier III hearing and obtained a reversal. He did not appeal to the highest level of DOCS, but inasmuch as he obtained a favorable determination regarding his due process claim, no such further appeal was required. See Abney v. McGinnis, 380 F.3d 663, 668, 2004 WL 1842647 (2d Cir.2004) (To require prisoners to appeal all favorable resolutions ... would be impracticable.); Marvin v. Goord, 255 F.3d 40, 43 n. 3 (2d Cir.2001) (per curiam); see also Ross v. County of Bernalillo, 365 F.3d 1181, 1187 (10th Cir.2004) (Once a prisoner has won all the relief that is available under the institution's administrative procedures, his administrative remedies are exhausted. Prisoners are not required to file additional complaints or appeal favorable decisions in such cases.). 25 There is no basis, however, for us to conclude that Ortiz exhausted his available administrative remedies with respect to his Eighth Amendment claim. He alleges only that he complained orally, to no avail, about the SHU conditions which are the subject of the claim. According to his complaint, When plaintiff complained of the inhumane conditions, corrections officers threatened that he would be physically beaten and charged with additional infractions. First Amended Compl. ¶ 12. Although in some circumstances threats by prison guards may render administrative remedies unavailable for purposes of section 1997e(a), see Hemphill v. State of New York, 380 F.3d 680, 689-91, 2004 WL 1842658 (2d Cir.2004), Ortiz alleges only that he was threatened when he complained. He does not contend that the threats from guards prevented him from filing a grievance or otherwise rendered DOCS grievance procedures unavailable.