Smith (ID 50867) v. Ingalls, 5:19-cv-03107

Plaintiff Roger Smith, an inmate at Butler County Jail, alleges denial of a proper diet from June 26, 2018 to June 2, 2019: over 25 unfit trays in a two-week span, spoiled meat, missed lunch/dinner trays, and over 20 pounds of weight loss.
Smith alleges jail medical staff told defendant Ingalls that he could not eat certain foods, but Ingalls still prepared trays contrary to medical guidance.
Smith filed an amended § 1983 complaint on a court form but left the administrative-exhaustion checkboxes blank; he later said he filed a "form 9" and grievances requesting a different diet.
Defendant moved to dismiss for (1) failure to exhaust administrative remedies and (2) failure to state a claim under § 1983.
The court held exhaustion is an affirmative defense and not a pleading requirement, rejected the exhaustion dismissal argument without prejudice, and found the factual allegations sufficient to plausibly state a § 1983 claim based on deliberate indifference/personal participation.
The court denied the motion to dismiss, denied as moot Smith’s motion for an order to show cause, and returned the case for random reassignment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Administrative exhaustion	Smith alleges he filed grievances/form 9 and sought relief	Complaint left exhaustion boxes blank; failure to allege exhaustion warrants dismissal	Dismissal denied; exhaustion is an affirmative defense and not a pleading requirement; rejection without prejudice
Failure to state a § 1983 claim (diet/medical)	Repeated provision of spoiled/unfit trays, missed meals, >20 lb loss, and ignoring medical instructions show constitutional violation	Incidents are isolated and insufficient to show deliberate indifference	Allegations construed favorably are sufficient to state a plausible § 1983 claim; defendant’s motion denied

Lax v. Corizon Medical Staff, [citation="766 F. App'x 626"] (10th Cir. 2019) (explaining exhaustion is an affirmative defense, not a pleading requirement)
Aguilar-Avellaveda v. Terrell, 478 F.3d 1223 (10th Cir. 2007) (plaintiff does not bear burden to negate an exhaustion defense in the complaint)
Waller v. City & County of Denver, 932 F.3d 1277 (10th Cir. 2019) (pleading standard: accept well-pleaded allegations and draw reasonable inferences)
MacArthur v. San Juan County, 309 F.3d 1216 (10th Cir. 2002) (court assesses legal sufficiency of complaint, not weigh evidence)
Ingrassia v. Schafer, 825 F.3d 891 (8th Cir. 2016) (Eighth Amendment deliberate-indifference principles applied to medical/dietary claims)