Bowers v. Dart

Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing for failure to exhaust administrative remedies plaintiff-prisoner’s section 1983 action, alleging that defendants-Sheriff and certain jail employees failed to protect him from severe beating he received from other prisoners, under circumstances where plaintiff had told three jail workers that he would be attacked by said prisoners and defendants failed to protect him from said attack. Relevant procedural rules required that plaintiff file grievance with jail prior to filing instant action, and while plaintiff had filed grievance alleging that one guard had failed to come to his aid during attack, said grievance was substantively distinct from allegations in instant complaint that defendants had failed to protect him prior to attack. Also, Dist. Ct. could properly find that plaintiff’s Monell claim against County was time-barred, since it was filed beyond applicable two-year limitations period, where record showed that defendant filed instant claim almost three years after plaintiff learned that his appeal of prison grievance had been denied. Fact that County had subsequently initiated internal affairs investigation concerning attack on plaintiff did not toll limitations period, since plaintiff would not have obtained any remedy arising out of said investigation. Moreover, record contained sufficient evidence to support jury’s verdict in favor of defendant-Sheriff in plaintiff’s ADA claim, alleging that defendant had discriminated against him based on his disability by failing to accommodate his disability, where, although plaintiff maintained that he was paralyzed and confined to wheelchair, jury could properly find that plaintiff had lied about his physical condition and/or his need for wheelchair given medical testimony indicating that plaintiff had no neurological injury.