A prisoner filed a lawsuit, claiming that he was exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) while incarcerated because a Division of Correction policy banning smoking in the institution was not enforced.  Rice alleged that the exposure to SHS negatively impacted his long-term health.  The Defendants moved for summary judgment, asserting that Rice did not comply with the requirements of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) since he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies regarding this claim because he failed to file a grievance at the institution level.  A federal judge agreed with the Defendants, ruling that the “undisputed facts establish that Plaintiff has failed to comply with the requirements of the PLRA, depriving this court of its opportunity to consider the merits of his claim.”

2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112889 (U.S.D.C., D. Md. 2011).