Sara Kielly v. Sean P. Donovan

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Defendant Sean P. Donovan’s motion for summary judgment in Sara Kielly’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging deliberate indifference to suicidal ideation in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The court held that Plaintiff failed to exhaust available administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act because the record did not show that her grievance appeal was properly submitted to CORC, and it rejected her argument that the grievance process was unavailable.

Holdings

1. Plaintiff's grievance was timely because, although filed twenty-eight days after the incident, she requested an extension within the permitted period and demonstrated mitigating circumstances arising from her suicide attempt, medical recovery, monitoring, and transfers among facilities.
2. Plaintiff failed to establish that she properly submitted an appeal to CORC and therefore failed to exhaust the administrative remedies available under the DOCCS Inmate Grievance Program.
3. Plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the grievance process was unavailable under the recognized exceptions for a dead end, an opaque procedure, or official machination, misrepresentation, or intimidation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff timely submitted her grievance under the DOCCS Inmate Grievance Program despite filing it twenty-eight days after the incident.
2. Whether Plaintiff properly exhausted administrative remedies by appealing her grievance to CORC before commencing the § 1983 action.
3. Whether the administrative remedies were unavailable to Plaintiff under the exceptions recognized in Ross v. Blake.

Disposition

other