John Pavao v. Sims

John Pavao, a Florida state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights lawsuit against Joseph Sims, formerly a correctional officer at Apalachee Correctional Institution (“Apa-lachee”). Pavao alleged that Sims deliberately provoked his cellmate to attack him until he blacked out and then threatened him with retaliation for seeking redress through the prison grievance system. The district court dismissed Pavao’s lawsuit for failure to exhaust his administrative remedies as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PLRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). On appeal,…