Shawn Wayne Whatley v. Ware SP Warden

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge:

On remand from this court, 1 the district court dismissed Shawn Whatley's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint because he had failed to exhaust administrative remedies as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Because we believe that, as a matter of law, the prison Commissioner's Office rendered a decision on the merits, we hold that Mr. Whatley has exhausted the available administrative remedies. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's judgment and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I

BACKGROUND

A

In January 2011,…