47-5-805 - Application of procedures to pending lawsuits.
§ 47-5-805. Application of procedures to pending lawsuits.
Any offender who, on July 1, 1994, is a plaintiff in a lawsuit naming the state, the Department of Corrections or an official or an employee of the Department of Corrections as a defendant or defendants shall be furnished notice by certified mail of Sections 47-5-801 through 47-5-807 and the fact and date of the enactment of the administrative review procedure, and proof of notice of service of the offender plaintiff shall be filed in the offender's court record where such lawsuit is pending. Any offender so notified by certified mail shall, within thirty (30) days after receipt of such notice, commence administrative review, under the administrative review procedure, of the complaint which is the subject matter of his lawsuit. Any such pending lawsuit, on July 1, 1994, shall be stayed by the court for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days in order to require exhaustion of the remedies as provided under the administrative review procedure. If an offender fails to completely utilize the administrative review procedure during the period of the stay, then the court may consider this as a factor in deciding whether the case may proceed.
Sources: Laws, 1989, ch. 563, § 3; Laws, 1994, ch. 444, § 1, eff from and after July 1, 1994.