Joseph A. Becker v. Sgt. Ike

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 24-2601
___________________________
Joseph A. Becker
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant
v.
Sgt. Ike; Earl Scott, Nurse, JCCC; Susan Hodges, Nurse, JCCC; Keith Segall,
Nurse, JCCC; Jerry Lovelace, Regional Medical Director, JCCC; Centurion
Health Care Services; Myles Stryd, Deputy Warden, JCCC; Lt. Ozanich; Michael
Graf, COI; Shaunrelle Robinson, COI
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City
____________
Submitted: December 18, 2024
Filed: January 8, 2025
[Unpublished]
____________
Before GRUENDER, SHEPHERD, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
Missouri prisoner Joseph Becker appeals the district court’s Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) dismissal of his civil rights action, for failure to exhaust

-- 1 of 2 --

administrative remedies. Becker claimed correctional officers subjected him to
excessive force during an August 3, 2021 incident and that on multiple occasions he
was denied medical care for the resulting injuries. Becker contended that
administrative remedies were unavailable to him because he was denied the form
needed to initiate administrative proceedings, and he specifically alleged that in the
weeks following the incident staff denied his requests for the form because he refused
to end a hunger strike. The district court determined that Becker failed to properly
exhaust administrative remedies and that the record, which includes grievances
Becker filed months after the incident, showed Becker had access to the
administrative process.
We conclude that the district court erred in dismissing the case for failure to
exhaust administrative remedies without determining whether Becker could have
timely initiated the grievance process with respect to his claims. See Perry v.
Precythe, 121 F.4th 711, 713-15, 716 n.1 (stating that dismissal pursuant to Rule
12(b)(6) is reviewed de novo; concluding that the district court erred in determining
that a Missouri prisoner failed to satisfy the exhaustion requirement where the
administrative process was unavailable to the prisoner during the 15-day timeframe
for initiating the process); Smith v. Andrews, 75 F.4th 805, 808-09 (8th Cir. 2023)
(holding that a court must determine whether administrative remedies were
unavailable before determining that failure to exhaust remedies bars a prisoner’s
lawsuit); see also Miller v. Norris, 247 F.3d 736, 740 (8th Cir. 2001) (concluding a
prisoner’s allegations that prison officials failed to respond to his requests for
grievance forms raised an inference that he was prevented from utilizing the prison’s
administrative remedies). Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s order
dismissing the case and remand for the district court to assess whether administrative
remedies were available with respect to each of Becker’s claims and to conduct
further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We also grant Becker’s motion for
leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. See Henderson v. Norris, 129 F.3d
481, 484-85 (8th Cir. 1997) (per curiam).
______________________________
-2-

-- 2 of 2 --