Francois Givens v. James Tilton

MEMORANDUM

Francois Poitier Givens, a former California state prisoner, appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action for failure to exhaust administrative remedies pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s dismissal for failure to exhaust, Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F.3d 1108, 1117 (9th Cir.2003), review for clear error its factual determinations, id., and review for an abuse of discretion its denial of leave to amend, Roberts v. Ariz. Bd. of Regents, 661 F.2d 796, 798 (9th Cir.1981), and its denial of a motion for reconsideration, Minn. Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Ensley, 174 F.3d 977, 987 (9th Cir.1999). We affirm.

The district court properly dismissed the action because Givens did not complete the administrative appeals process in accordance with the prison’s procedural rules. See Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 90-91 , 126 S.Ct. 2378 , 165 L.Ed.2d 368 (2006) (explaining that “proper exhaustion” under § 1997e(a) requires inmates to complete “all steps that the agency holds out” and to follow administrative procedural rules); see…