Bonga v. Schnell

Background

The plaintiffs, who were incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault, alleged that the facility denied Native American inmates the ability to participate in spiritual rituals. They specifically challenged the suspension of sweat-lodge ceremonies beginning in February 2020. They alleged that the suspension may have resulted from COVID-19 precautions or from a prior physical altercation involving ceremony participants, and that other religious groups were treated differently. The claims arose under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the First Amendment.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections provides a grievance process for prison-condition complaints. An inmate first submits an informal request, called a “kite.” If dissatisfied with the response, the inmate may pursue the request through the facility’s chain of command, file a formal facility grievance, and appeal the response to the Department of Corrections’ central office.

Dario Bonga submitted four kite forms about continuing Native American ceremonies and using tobacco during them. Robert Boettcher submitted two kite forms about access to ceremonial items. The parties agreed that none of the four remaining plaintiffs filed a formal grievance.

Report and Recommendation and Objection

Tracy Beltz moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims were barred because they had not exhausted the available administrative remedies. United States Magistrate Judge Leo I. Brisbois recommended granting the motion and dismissing the complaint. The plaintiffs objected and argued that the exhaustion requirement should be excused. They also argued that former plaintiff Christopher Roybal’s exhaustion should count for them. Roybal was no longer a plaintiff because the amended complaint omitted him and stated that he did not wish to continue in the case.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires prisoners to fully and properly complete available administrative remedies for each claim before filing a federal lawsuit about prison conditions. The court treated filing a formal grievance as a required step in the Minnesota process. Because none of the plaintiffs had filed a formal grievance, the court concluded that they had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies and that the complaint was procedurally barred.

The court rejected reliance on Roybal’s exhaustion because he had been dismissed from the lawsuit and was no longer a plaintiff. It also rejected the argument that requiring each plaintiff to exhaust was redundant, noting that none of the remaining plaintiffs had exhausted the process.

Disposition

The court overruled the plaintiffs’ objection to the report and recommendation, adopted the report and recommendation, and granted Tracy Beltz’s motion for summary judgment. The order directed that judgment be entered.