Robert Morris v. Thena Poteat, Melvin Hinton, and Sheri Buettner

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois grants a partial motion for summary judgment based on failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The court dismisses without prejudice Morris’s claims against Sheri Buettner concerning Wellbutrin and against Thena Poteat concerning an alleged sexual assault, while allowing the medication claim to proceed against Poteat and Melvin Hinton.

Holdings

1. Morris failed to exhaust administrative remedies because none of his grievances concerning Wellbutrin named or described Buettner's alleged involvement in the medication decisions.
2. Morris failed to exhaust administrative remedies as to his sexual-assault claim against Poteat because he submitted the December 22, 2022 grievance directly to the ARB instead of first submitting it through the required prison grievance process, and his later grievance concerned confidentiality rather than the assault.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Morris exhausted administrative remedies as to his Count 1 claim against Buettner concerning the discontinuation or nonrenewal of Wellbutrin.
2. Whether Morris exhausted administrative remedies as to his Count 2 claim against Poteat concerning the alleged sexual assault.
3. Whether defendants were entitled to partial summary judgment despite Morris's failure to respond to the motion.

Disposition

other