Al-Amin v. Johnson, 4th Cir. (2007)

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-6455
RASHID QAWI AL-AMIN,

Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
LINDA SHEAR, in her individual and official
capacities; RUFUS FLEMING, in his individual
and official capacities; G. P. WILLIAMS, in
his individual and official capacities; D. M.
FERGUSON, in his/her individual and official
capacities; S. J. ADVENT, in his individual
and official capacities; S. BAYLOR, in his
individual and official capacities; CHARLIE
DAVIS,
in
his
individual
and
official
capacities; M. L. POPE, in his individual and
official capacities; MR. FERROW, in his
individual
and
official
capacities;
C.
ALDERMAN, in his individual and official
capacities; B. BROCK, in his individual and
official capacities,
Defendants - Appellees,
and
GENE JOHNSON, in his official capacity,
Defendant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Raymond A. Jackson, District
Judge. (CA-04-346-2)
Argued:
May 25, 2006
Decided:
February 21, 2007
Before WILLIAMS and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior

Circuit Judge.
Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
ARGUED: Paul F. Rugani, Third Year Law Student, UNIVERSITY OF

VIRGINIA
SCHOOL
OF
LAW,
Appellate
Litigation
Clinic,
Charlottesville, Virginia, for Appellant. Mark Ralph Davis, Senior
Assistant Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.
ON BRIEF: Neal L. Walters,
Pauletta J. Brown, Third Year Law Student, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
SCHOOL OF LAW, Appellate Litigation Clinic, Charlottesville,
Virginia, for Appellant. Judith W. Jagdmann, Attorney General,
Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Rashid Qawi Al-Amin contends that the district court erred in
dismissing his suit for failure to exhaust administrative remedies;
in the alternative, Al-Amin contends that the district court should
have dismissed any unexhausted claims from his complaint and
allowed his exhausted claims to proceed forward.
In light of the
Supreme Courts decision in Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. __ (Jan. 22,

2007), we conclude that the district court erred in dismissing all
of Al-Amins claims; accordingly, we vacate the district courts
order and remand for further proceedings.
I.
Rashid Qawi Al-Amin is a state prisoner at the Greensville
Correctional Center in Virginia. In 1991, Al-Amin formerly changed
his name from Donald Tracy Jones to Rashid Qawi Al-Amin after
converting to Islam.
In 1999, Al-Amin was transferred to the
Greensville Correctional Center, where the prison officials have

refused to recognize his legal name change.
Over a period of
years, Al-Amin filed several administrative grievances relating to

his name and the accommodation of his religious practices at the
prison.
In May 2004, Al-Amin filed the present suit in the Eastern
District of Virginia alleging violations of 42 U.S.C.A. 1983

(West
2003
&
Supp.
2006)
and
the
Religious
Land
Use
and
Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C.A. 2000c et seq.
(West 2003 & Supp. 2006).

broad categories:
Al-Amin divided his claims into five
(1) the prisons failure to give proper effect
to [a] court order which legally changed his name, (2) the denial
of religious diet during Ramadan, (3) the discriminate denial of
religious material, (4) the discriminate imposition of [a] burden
on his right to observe his religious prayer, and (5) inadequate
religious diet.
(J.A. at 7-8.)
Contained within Al-Amins first
issue were the following grievances:
(a) he was denied incoming
and outgoing mail privileges unless he used the name Jones; (b)
he was denied access to his inmate account unless he used the name
Jones; (c) the prison staff continues to refer to him as Jones
and
threatens
him
with
disciplinary
action
if
he
refuses
to
acknowledge the name Jones; and (d) the prison requires him to
use Jones to receive (1) his medication, (2) his daily meals, (3)
medical services, and (4) to attend religious services.
Al-Amin
requested a declaratory judgment and compensatory damages.

The named prison system defendants (the prison officials)
moved to dismiss Al-Amins complaint, alleging that Al-Amin had not
exhausted his administrative remedies on each of the claims.
In
support of its motion to dismiss, the prison system submitted the

affidavit
of
R.
Woodson,
the
Grievance
Greensville Correctional Center.
Coordinator
at
the
Woodson stated that Al-Amin had
exhausted his administrative remedies pertaining to [the] denial

of his religious diet during Ramadan, pertaining to an Islamic
videotape and two audio tapes he purchased to donate to the

chaplain library, and pertaining to Muslims being denied the
right to pray in common areas.
(J.A. at 59-60.)
Woodson could
find no grievance petitions relating to the seven claims listed

under Al-Amins Failure to give proper Effect to the Court order
heading. In response to the prison systems motion to dismiss, AlAmin
stated
that
he
had
copy
of
the
exhausted
grievance
pertaining to the denial of access to his inmate account and copies

of a grievance filed on January 14, 2004, pertaining to the medical
and food services departments failure to recognize his legal name
and his inability to receive incoming or outgoing mail under that
name.
The district court granted the prison systems motion to
dismiss Al-Amins complaint without prejudice.
The district court
based its decision only on a review of the facts related to AlAmins claims concerning the prison systems alleged failure to
give effect to the court order, reasoning that Al-Amin had not
exhausted his administrative remedies on his claims relating to his
inability to send or receive mail under his legal name, the prison
systems
requirement
that
he
use
the
name
Jones
to
attend
religious services, threats by prison staff requiring him to

acknowledge the name Jones, and the medical and food service
departments refusal to recognize his new name. The district court
did find, however, that Al-Amin exhausted his grievance relating to
the denial of access to his inmate account. The district court

deemed it unnecessary to further review the complaint because it
found that the failure to exhaust these claims required dismissal
of the entire complaint without prejudice under 42 U.S.C.A. 1997e
(West 2003 & Supp. 2006).
The district court interpreted
1997e(a)s language -- that [n]o action shall be brought with

respect to prison conditions . . . until such administrative
remedies as are available are exhausted -- to require it to
dismiss Al-Amins suit in its entirety.
Al-Amin timely appealed.
II.
Before we may examine the 1997e issue, we must first assure
ourselves that Al-Amin has presented us with a final appealable
order under 28 U.S.C.A. 1291 (West 2006).
Generally, an order
dismissing a complaint without prejudice is not an appealable final

order under 28 U.S.C. 1291 when the plaintiff could save his
action by merely amending his complaint.
Young v. Nickols, 413
F.3d 416, 418 (4th Cir. 2005)(quoting Domino Sugar Corp. v. Sugar
Workers Local Union 392, 10 F.3d 1064, 1066-67 (4th Cir. 1993)).
The posture of Al-Amins suit is similar to that of the plaintiffs
in Domino Sugar.
In
Domino Sugar, the district court had
dismissed the Companys complaint without prejudice on account of

the Companys failure to exhaust contractual remedies.
1067
(internal
alteration
and
quotation
marks
Id. at
omitted).
We
concluded that the district courts order was final and appealable
because no amendment to the complaint could cure the defect and
because the district court essentially made a final ruling that
the Company had to proceed to arbitration before seeking judicial
relief.
Id.
Here, the district court issued a similar ruling; it
required Al-Amin to proceed with the administrative grievance

process prior to seeking judicial relief.
Because the alleged
defect in Al-Amins action is not apparent on the face of his

complaint, such as a pleading error, the defect cannot be remedied
through
an
amendment
to
the
complaint.*
We,
therefore,
are
satisfied that we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.A. 1291.
III.
Having satisfied ourselves that Al-Amins appeal presents us
with a final appealable order, we turn to the merits of his case.
Whether a district court properly required a plaintiff to exhaust
her administrative remedies before bringing suit in federal court
is a question of law. . . . Therefore, we review the district
In Anderson v. XYZ Corr. Health Servs., Inc., 407 F.3d 674,

681 (4th Cir. 2005), we held that an inmate is not required to
allege exhaustion of remedies in his complaint; instead, we viewed
an inmates failure to exhaust remedies as an affirmative defense.
Id. The Supreme Court recently affirmed this understanding. See
Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. __, __(Jan. 22, 2007) (slip op. at 15) (We
conclude that failure to exhaust is an affirmative defense under
the PLRA, and that inmates are not required to specially plead or
demonstrate exhaustion in their complaints.).
7
courts order de novo.
Talbot v. Lucy Corr Nursing Home, 118 F.3d
215, 218 (4th Cir. 1997).

It is undisputed that the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act
(PLRA) requires prisoners to exhaust their administrative remedies
before seeking relief in the federal courts.
1997e(a);
see
also
Woodford
v.
Ngo,
126
S.
42 U.S.C.A.
Ct.
2378,
2384
(2006)(There is no dispute that [the] language [of 1997(e)]

requires a prisoner to exhaust administrative remedies. . . .).
Here, however, we must determine the proper course for a district
court to follow when a prisoners complaint contains a mixture of
unexhausted and exhausted claims.
Because this issue has divided
the courts, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide, inter

alia, whether the PLRA prescribes a total exhaustion rule that
requires
district
court
to
dismiss
prisoners
complaint
whenever that complaint contains multiple claims and at least one

of those claims is not exhausted.
We held decision in this case in
abeyance pending the Courts opinion.

In Jones v. Bock, the Supreme Court answered that question in
the negative.
549 U.S. __, __(Jan. 22, 2007) (slip op. at 20-23).
The
court
district
in
Jones
had
dismissed
prisoner
Joness
complaint because it failed to allege how he had exhausted his

administrative remedies.
On appeal, the Sixth Circuit held in the
alternative that even if Jones had shown he had exhausted some of

his claims, the district court properly dismissed the compliant
because Jones did not show that he had exhausted all of his
claims.
Jones v. Bock, 135 Fed. Appx. 837, 839 (6th Cir. 2006)
(per curiam).
The Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuits
holding and remanded for further proceedings.
In so doing, the
Court explained that the correct path for a district court to take
under the PLRA when faced with multiple claims, some of which are
exhausted and some of which are not, is to proceed[] with the good
and leave[] the bad.
Jones, 549 U.S. at __ (slip. op. at 21).
In
short, only the bad claims [should be] dismissed; the complaint as
a whole [should] not.
Id. (internal alteration and quotation
marks omitted).
Here, the district court adopt[ed] the total exhaustion rule
for complaints governed by the PLRA, (J.A. at 186), and dismissed
Al-Amins complaint after finding that he had failed to exhaust
administrative remedies for some claims raised in this action,
(J.A. at 187.)
In light of the Supreme Courts opinion in Jones,
however, we can now say with certainty that the district courts
interpretation of the statue was incorrect.
The district court
committed legal error in reading a total exhaustion requirement

into the PLRA.
IV.
Because the district court erred in interpreting the PLRA to
require total exhaustion, we vacate its judgment and remand for
further proceedings.
Although Al-Amin also contends that the
district court erred in finding that some of his claims were not
exhausted, we find no error in the district courts specific
exhaustion determinations.
But because the district court was
operating under the mistaken assumption that the PLRA required

total exhaustion, it found only that some of Al-Amins claims were
not exhausted, which made it unnecessary to address whether his
remaining claims had been exhausted.
Accordingly, we leave it for
the district court to address in the first instance all of AlAmins remaining claims and determine which of those claims have
been properly exhausted.
VACATED AND REMANDED
10

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UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

RASHID QAWI AL-AMIN,

May 25, 2006

February 21, 2007

Before WILLIAMS and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior

Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ARGUED: Paul F. Rugani, Third Year Law Student, UNIVERSITY OF

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Supreme Courts decision in Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. __ (Jan. 22,

In 1999, Al-Amin was transferred to the

Greensville Correctional Center, where the prison officials have

years, Al-Amin filed several administrative grievances relating to

In May 2004, Al-Amin filed the present suit in the Eastern

District of Virginia alleging violations of 42 U.S.C.A. 1983

Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C.A. 2000c et seq.

(West 2003 & Supp. 2006).

Al-Amin divided his claims into five

(1) the prisons failure to give proper effect

Contained within Al-Amins first

issue were the following grievances:

(a) he was denied incoming

requested a declaratory judgment and compensatory damages.

support of its motion to dismiss, the prison system submitted the

Greensville Correctional Center.

Woodson stated that Al-Amin had

exhausted his administrative remedies pertaining to [the] denial

videotape and two audio tapes he purchased to donate to the

find no grievance petitions relating to the seven claims listed

pertaining to the denial of access to his inmate account and copies

The district court

religious services, threats by prison staff requiring him to

the denial of access to his inmate account. The district court

The district court interpreted

1997e(a)s language -- that [n]o action shall be brought with

Al-Amin timely appealed.

dismissing a complaint without prejudice is not an appealable final

Young v. Nickols, 413

Domino Sugar, the district court had

dismissed the Companys complaint without prejudice on account of

Here, the district court issued a similar ruling; it

required Al-Amin to proceed with the administrative grievance

Because the alleged

defect in Al-Amins action is not apparent on the face of his

satisfied that we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.A. 1291.

In Anderson v. XYZ Corr. Health Servs., Inc., 407 F.3d 674,

courts order de novo.

Talbot v. Lucy Corr Nursing Home, 118 F.3d

215, 218 (4th Cir. 1997).

(2006)(There is no dispute that [the] language [of 1997(e)]

Because this issue has divided

the courts, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide, inter

whenever that complaint contains multiple claims and at least one

We held decision in this case in

abeyance pending the Courts opinion.

549 U.S. __, __(Jan. 22, 2007) (slip op. at 20-23).

complaint because it failed to allege how he had exhausted his

On appeal, the Sixth Circuit held in the

alternative that even if Jones had shown he had exhausted some of

The Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuits

549 U.S. , (Jan. 22, 2007) (slip op. at 20-23).