§ 14.005.Grievance System Decision; Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

The exhaustion requirement, and its deadline is the shortest in the chapter.

An inmate filing a claim subject to the prison grievance system shall file with the court an affidavit or declaration stating the date the grievance was filed and the date the written decision was received, together with a copy of the written decision.

Subsection (b) is the trap: a court shall dismiss a claim if the inmate fails to file it before the 31st day after the date the inmate receives the written decision.

Thirty-one days is a short period, and the dismissal is mandatory. An inmate who waits, or who is slow to obtain assistance, loses the claim regardless of its merit.

The clock runs from receipt of the decision, which is why the affidavit must state that date — it is the fact on which the timeliness of the whole claim turns.

This period is far shorter than any ordinary limitations period, and it operates independently of them. A claim well within limitations is dismissed if filed on the 32nd day.

Subsection (c) handles the opposite error. Where a claim is filed before the grievance procedure is complete, the court shall stay the proceeding for a period not to exceed 180 days to permit completion.

The contrast between the two is stark and worth noting. Filing too early produces a stay; filing too late produces dismissal.

So an inmate uncertain whether the grievance process is finished is better served by filing early — the consequence is delay rather than loss.

The 180-day cap keeps the stay bounded, so a stalled grievance does not suspend the case indefinitely.