Reyes v. Smith et al

Filing 35

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Craig M. Kellison on 04/19/16 ordering that defendants shall file an answer to plaintiff's complaint within 30 days of the date of this order. (Plummer, M)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DAVID REYES,

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Plaintiff,
vs.

Defendants.

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/

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ORDER

CHRISTOPHER SMITH, et al.,

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No. 2:12-cv-0652-KJM-CMK-P

Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1983.
Plaintiff originally filed this action in March 2012. The court found service

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appropriate for defendants Smith and Heatley, and authorized service in June 2012. In December

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2012, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss for plaintiff’s failure to exhaust his administrative

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remedies. The court granted the unopposed motion, finding plaintiff did not exhaust his

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administrative remedies because he failed to identify the defendants as the staff members

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responsible for the medication determination he was grieving, which was a procedural

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requirement to properly exhaust his administrative remedies. Plaintiff appealed this court’s

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decision and dismissal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on a matter of first impression,
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disagreed with this court’s determination, finding that because the prison addressed the merits of

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plaintiff’s grievance despite his failure to comply with a procedural rule, the prison officials were

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on notice and had an opportunity to resolve the issue. The Ninth Circuit thus reversed this

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court’s decision, and remanded for further proceedings.

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The decision of the Ninth Circuit is essentially a denial of defendants’ motion to

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dismiss. As such, the defendants will now be required to file an answer to plaintiff’s complaint

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(Doc. 1).

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the defendants shall file an answer
to plaintiff’s complaint within 30 days of the date of this order.

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DATED: April 19, 2016
______________________________________
CRAIG M. KELLISON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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