Cheatham (ID 96193) v. Howes

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

RYAN CHRISTOPHER CHEATHAM,

Plaintiff,

v. CASE NO. 25-3091-JWL

JESSE HOWES, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Plaintiff brings this pro se civil rights case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Although Plaintiff is currently in custody at the Larned State Correctional Facility in Larned, Kansas, his claims are based on his incarceration at the Lansing Correctional Facility in Lansing, Kansas (“LCF”). On June 27, 2025, the Court entered a Memorandum and Order to Show Cause (Doc. 7) (“MOSC”) granting Plaintiff until July 28, 2025, in which to show good cause why some of his claims should not be dismissed, or to submit an amended complaint to cure the deficiencies. The Court also found that Plaintiff’s excessive force claim based on an incident at LCF on March 13, 2025, was not subject to dismissal at that time. (Doc. 7, at 7.) On July 16, 2025, the Court entered a Memorandum and Order (Doc. 13) (“M&O’) granting Plaintiff’s motion for an extension of time and extending the deadline to respond to the MOSC and to submit an amended complaint to August 11, 2025. The Court also granted Plaintiff’s request to direct the KDOC to retain any video footage from the March 13, 2025 incident at LCF. This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s “Motion for Court to Take Notice on Level 2 Grievance Forwarded to Lansing and Possible Additional Time Extension to File Amended Complaint” (Doc. 14); and Plaintiff’s “Motion for Clerk to Request A4 Cell House Cameras Video Footage from March 13, 2025, in Lansing Correctional Facility” (Doc. 15). In his motion at Doc. 14, Plaintiff attaches a copy of a grievance response and indicates that he still needs to follow up with the Secretary of Corrections to complete exhaustion. (Doc. 14, at 1.) Plaintiff then acknowledges the extension of time he received previously and states that he will leave it up to the Court to decide if he should be granted another extension to allow time for him to receive an answer from the Warden and Secretary of Corrections regarding

his grievance. Id. The Court denies the motion because the Court has already extended Plaintiff’s deadline to August 11, 2025. Furthermore, it appears that Plaintiff is attempting to wait to file his amended complaint until after he has fully exhausted his administrative remedies. The Court noted in the MOSC that an inmate is required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) to exhaust all available prison administrative remedies before filing a complaint in federal court. (Doc. 7, at 20–21.) ““An inmate who begins the grievance process but does not complete it is barred from pursuing a § 1983 claim under [the] PLRA for failure to exhaust his administrative remedies.” Jernigan v. Stuchell, 304 F.3d 1030, 1032 (10th Cir. 2002) (citation omitted). Therefore, any further extension to allow him to exhaust his administrative remedies

would be futile. Any unexhausted claim must be pursued by filing an action after he has fully exhausted his administrative remedies for that claim. Plaintiff’s motion is denied. In his motion at Doc. 15, Plaintiff asks the Court to add to its July 16, 2025 M&O a clarification that the video footage to be retained should be from A4 Cell House, and the camera at the top of the yard door by Plaintiff’s Cell 122 at around 8:00 pm to 9:45 pm. (Doc. 15, at 1.) The Court will grant this motion to the extent that the Court will direct the Clerk to provide a copy of this Memorandum and Order, which clarifies the relevant location and time, to the LCF warden1 and to counsel for the Kansas Department of Corrections.

1 It has come to the Court’s attention that Jesse Howes is no longer the warden at LCF and Gloria Geither is acting as interim warden. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT that Plaintiff’s “Motion for Court to Take Notice on Level 2 Grievance Forwarded to Lansing and Possible Additional Time Extension to File Amended Complaint” (Doc. 14) is denied. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s “Motion for Clerk to Request A4 Cell House Cameras Video Footage from March 13, 2025, in Lansing Correctional Facility”

(Doc. 15) is granted to the extent that the Court directs the Clerk to provide a copy of this Memorandum and Order to the LCF warden and to counsel for the Kansas Department of Corrections. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated July 22, 2025, in Kansas City, Kansas. S/ John W. Lungstrum JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE