Corchado v. Carter

Background

Frankie Corchado filed a self-represented complaint identified as a proposed class action against Warden Carter, Captain Guerra, Captain John Doe, and Captain Horton. The alleged events occurred at the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center on October 5, 2021. Corchado alleged violations of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

According to the complaint, Corchado and other inmates lacked toilet paper, soap, and toothbrushes for two to three days. He alleged that Horton, Carter, and Guerra knew or should have known about those conditions. He further alleged that, after he notified Guerra, he and other inmates were placed in hand restraints and taken to intake holding cells. There, he alleged that toilet water was shut off and that the inmates received no food or water for seven to eight hours. Corchado claimed physical, psychological, mental, and emotional harm and sought damages and orders concerning the facility’s practices and hygiene supplies. The other inmates he mentioned were not joined as parties.

Corchado gave the complaint to prison authorities for mailing on October 12, 2021, and the court treated it as filed on that date under the prison-mailbox rule. The defendants later filed an unopposed motion to dismiss. Corchado did not oppose the motion, request more time, or take further action in the case.

Legal standard and analysis

The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires an incarcerated person to properly complete all available administrative remedies before bringing a federal action about prison conditions. At the facility involved here, the Inmate Grievance Resolution Program required several steps, including filing a grievance, review by the Inmate Grievance Resolution Committee, appeals to facility and department officials, and a final appeal to the Central Office Review Committee.

The court held that the complaint itself showed that Corchado could not have completed this process before filing. Only seven days passed between the alleged violations and the filing of the complaint. Even under an exceptionally fast schedule, the court calculated that the grievance process would take at least eight days, and the stated procedures allowed more time for each step. The court therefore concluded that Corchado failed to complete the required administrative process, making the complaint premature and legally insufficient under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.

Disposition

Judge Vernon S. Broderick granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the opinion and order to Corchado, terminate all open motions, and close the action. The opinion does not state whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice.