Owens v. Allen et al
Filing
73
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART 56 Motion for Summary Judgment. The motion is granted as to Plaintiff's Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Sandra Funk set forth in 14-cv-55-NJR; that claim is DISMISSED without prejudice. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment in 14-cv-55-NJR accordingly and to close the case. The motion is denied to the extent it was seeking summary judgment on Plaintiff's First Amendment claim against Defendant Funk set forth in 15-cv-1085-NJR. Case 15-cv-1085-NJR shall proceed and is ORDERED to be unconsolidated from the instant action. Signed by Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel on 3/24/17. (klh2)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
JAMES OWENS,
Plaintiff,
v.
SANDRA FUNK,
Defendant.
JAMES OWENS,
Plaintiff,
v.
JOHN R. BALDWIN and SANDRA
FUNK,
Defendants.
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Case No. 3:14-cv-55-NJR-DGW
Consolidated with:
Case No. 3:15-cv-1085-NJR-DGW
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
ROSENSTENGEL, District Judge:
This matter is before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue
of Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies filed by Defendants John Baldwin and
Sandra Funk on July 22, 2016 (Doc. 56). For the reasons set forth below, the motion is
granted in part and denied in part.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
This matter involves two separate, but consolidated cases filed by Plaintiff, James
Owens, an inmate in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”),
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pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In his complaint filed in Owens v. Funk, 14-cv-55-NJR,
Owens sets forth an Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Sandra Funk for
transferring him from Pinckneyville Correctional Center to Menard Correctional Center
(“Menard”), despite Owens having been administratively removed from Menard in 2005
due to having known enemies there (see Docs. 16 and 28). John R. Baldwin, the IDOC
Director, is named as a defendant in this lawsuit in his official capacity only for purposes
of injunctive relief (Id. at p. 7). In his subsequent case, Owens v. Baldwin, et al.,
15-cv-1085-NJR, filed on September 30, 2015, Owens sets forth a First Amendment claim
against Defendant Sandra Funk for transferring him to different prisons on one or more
occasions in retaliation for filing his previous lawsuit against her (case 15-cv-1085, Doc.
7, p. 3).
In the motion for summary judgment now before the Court, Defendants Funk and
Baldwin argue Owens failed to submit a grievance in 2011 or 2012 regarding the alleged
improper transfer that took place in December 2011 by Defendant Funk and, as such,
they ask the Court to enter judgment in their favor. In support of their motion,
Defendants assert that the records of the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) do not
contain any grievance concerning an improper transfer by Defendant Funk in December
2011, and Owens has failed to produce any such grievance. Defendants make no
argument, however, concerning grievances filed by Owens complaining that Defendant
Funk retaliated against him for filing a lawsuit. As such, the Court does not engage in
any analysis to determine whether Owens exhausted his First Amendment claim against
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Defendant Funk pending in Owens v. Baldwin, et al., 15-cv-1085-NJR, as that is not
properly before the Court.
Owens filed a response to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on
September 8, 2016 (Doc. 60). In his response, Owens asserts that he exhausted his
administrative remedies and, in support of this assertion, he attached a copy of a
grievance dated December 4, 2012, which he contends shows his attempts to exhaust his
claim against Defendant Funk (See id. at pp. 5-7).
On December 30, 2016, the Court notified the parties that based on the evidence
presented with regards to the issue of exhaustion, the undersigned was inclined to grant
Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, but on grounds not argued by Defendants.
Specifically, the Court noted that the grievance dated December 4, 2012, which Owens
relied on to establish exhaustion, appeared to have been filed well beyond the time
period prescribed by the Illinois Administrative Code because the events at issue in this
case relate to a transfer that occurred in December 2011 (Doc. 68). See ILL. ADMIN. CODE,
title 20, § 504.810(b) (requiring grievances to be filed within sixty days of occurrence).
Consequently, the Court indicated that it was inclined to grant Defendants’ motion on
this basis. Pursuant to Rule 56(f), the Court granted the parties thirty days to file a
response to the Court’s Order and assert any argument related to the filing of the
December 4, 2012 grievance (See Doc. 68). At his request, the Court extended the time for
Owens to file a response to the Court’s Order to February 21, 2017 (Doc. 71). Owens’s
response was filed one week late, on February 28, 2017 (Doc. 72). Nonetheless, the Court
recognizes the limited access Owens has to the law library and his legal materials, as set
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forth in his Motion for Extension of Time (Doc. 70) and, as such, finds that his response
was timely filed.
In his response to the Court’s Order, Owens sets forth case law regarding the
tolling of statute of limitations while an inmate attempts to exhaust his administrative
remedies (Doc. 72). Owens then argues that his grievance log shows he was actively
pursuing grievances from 2006 to 2015 except during 2011, when Defendants obstructed
the filing of grievances at Menard CC until December 12, 2011 (Doc. 72). Owens goes on
to argue that the statutory deadline is tolled in this case because the ARB never
responded to his grievance (Doc. 72).
LEGAL STANDARDS
Summary Judgment Standard
The standard applied to summary judgment motions under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 56 is well-settled and has been succinctly stated as follows:
Summary judgment is appropriate where the admissible evidence shows
that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the moving
party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A “material fact“ is one
identified by the substantive law as affecting the outcome of the suit. A
“genuine issue” exists with respect to any such material fact . . . when “the
evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the
nonmoving party.” On the other hand, where the factual record taken as a
whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving
party, there is nothing for a jury to do. In determining whether a genuine
issue of material fact exists, we view the record in the light most favorable
to the nonmoving party.
Bunn v. Khoury Enterprises, Inc., 753 F.3d 676, 681 (7th Cir. 2014) (citations omitted).
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Exhaustion Requirements under the PLRA
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) requires prisoners to exhaust their
administrative remedies through the prison’s grievance process before filing a civil
rights suit pertaining to prison conditions. 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a); Pyles v. Nwaobasi,
829 F.3d 860, 864 (7th Cir. 2016). “The exhaustion requirement is interpreted strictly;
thus, a ‘prisoner must comply with the specific procedures and deadlines established by
the prison’s policy.’” Pyles, 829 F.3d at 864 (quoting King v. McCarty, 781 F.3d 889, 893
(7th Cir. 2015)). However, an inmate is required to exhaust only those administrative
remedies available to him. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a).
Failure to exhaust administrative remedies is an affirmative defense; Defendants
bear the burden of proving a failure to exhaust. See Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 216 (2007);
Dole v. Chandler, 483 F.3d 804, 809 (7th Cir. 2006).
Exhaustion Requirements under Illinois Law
As an inmate confined in the Illinois Department of Corrections, Owens was
required to follow the three-step process outlined in the Illinois Administrative Code.
Pyles, 829 F.23d at 864 (“State law determines the administrative remedies that a state
prisoner must exhaust for PLRA purposes.”).
First, an inmate must attempt to resolve a complaint informally with his
counselor. ILL. ADMIN. CODE, title 20, § 504.810(a). If the complaint is not resolved, the
inmate must submit a written grievance to the grievance officer within sixty days after
the discovery of the incident, occurrence, or problem that gives rise to the grievance. Id.
at § 504.810(b). The grievance is then considered by the grievance officer and the chief
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administrative officer at the facility (usually the warden), who must issue a decision
within two months of receiving the grievance “where reasonably feasible under the
circumstances.” Id. at § 504.830(d). If the inmate is unsatisfied with the chief
administrative officer’s decision, he can appeal to the ARB for a final determination from
the director of the IDOC. Id. at 504.850(a). The appeal must be filed within thirty days of
the date of the chief administrative officer’s decision. Id. An inmate’s administrative
remedies are not exhausted until the appeal is ruled on by the ARB. See Dole v. Chandler,
438 F.3d 804, 806-07 (7th Cir. 2006).
DISCUSSION
As previously mentioned, the only relevant grievance before the Court is the
grievance submitted by Owens in response to Defendants’ motion for summary
judgment dated December 4, 2012 (See Doc. 60, pp. 5-6). Notably, in his response to the
Court’s Order, Owens did not assert that he filed any other grievances regarding his
Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Funk. While the Court is mindful of
Owens’s argument regarding the tolling of the statute of limitations, it simply misses the
mark.
The alleged unconstitutional action taken by Defendant Funk was an improper
transfer that occurred in December 2011. The Illinois Administrative Code requires that
grievances be filed within sixty days of the occurrence. ILL. ADMIN. CODE, title 20,
§ 504.810(b). As such, Owens as required to file his grievance about his transfer by March
1, 2012, at the latest. Consequently, his December 4, 2012 grievance was clearly out of
time and is therefore insufficient to exhaust the Eighth Amendment claim against
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Defendant Funk in Owens v. Butler, 14-cv-55-NJR.
The Court finds it necessary to address Owens’s assertion included in his
response to the Court’s Order that Defendants refused to provide him grievances during
his time at Menard until December 12, 2011. First, the Court presumes that Owens has
made a clerical error with regard to this date as his own grievance form indicates that he
was not transferred to Menard until December 21, 2011 (see Doc. 60, p. 5). As such, the
Court finds Owens likely meant to write “December 12, 2012.” If the Court considers this
argument with regard to a date of December 12, 2012, it finds Owens’s claim to be
disingenuous based on his own documents submitted to the Court. In particular, the
Court points to grievance “1200” on Owens’s grievance log (Doc. 72, p. 17). This
grievance indicated it was sent to Owens’s counselor on January 25, 2012 (Doc. 72, p. 17),
which directly contradicts his assertion that he was not provided any grievance forms
during his stay at Menard until December 12, 2012. Grievance “1200” received a
response from Owens’s counselor and the grievance officer prior to Owens’s transfer to
Lawrence (See id.). Further, the relevant grievance before the Court is dated December 4,
2012, but was signed by Owens on December 12, 2012 (See Doc. 60, p. 5). Given that it
was dated December 4th, however, the Court presumes Owens had access to grievance
forms on that date, which casts further doubt on his assertion that he was not provided
any grievance forms during his stay at Menard until December 12th.
For these reasons, the Court finds that the time period for Owens to file a
grievance regarding the transfer issue was not tolled, and his December 4, 2012
grievance was insufficient to exhaust his Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant
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Funk.
CONCLUSION
The Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Exhaustion of Administrative
Remedies filed by Defendant John Baldwin and Sandra Funk (Doc. 56) is GRANTED in
part and DENIED in part. It is granted as to Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim against
Defendant Funk set forth in Owens v. Funk, 14-cv-55-NJR; that claim is DISMISSED
without prejudice. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment in 14-cv-55-NJR
accordingly and to close the case.
The motion is denied to the extent it was seeking summary judgment on
Plaintiff’s First Amendment claim against Defendant Funk set forth in Owens v. Baldwin,
et al., 15-cv-1085-NJR. Case 15-cv-1085-NJR shall proceed and is ORDERED to be
unconsolidated from the instant action.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: March 24, 2017
____________________________
NANCY J. ROSENSTENGEL
United States District Judge
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