No. 23-3658 ___________________________

Jeremy James Allen

Plaintiff - Appellee

v. Dr. James Amsterdam, Medical Director, MN Doc, in His Individual and Official Capacity; Dr. Edward Shaman, M.D., in their individual capacity; Alyas Masih, M.D., in their individual capacity; Gene Kliber, P.A., in their individual capacity; Centurion of Minnesota, LLC

Defendants

Charles Brooks, in their individual capacity

Defendant - Appellant

Rita Iverson, in their individual capacity

Defendant

Cheryl Piepho, in their individual capacity

Defendant - Appellant Minnesota Department of Corrections; Paul Schnell, in their individual capacity

Defendants ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ____________ Submitted: June 12, 2024 Filed: March 26, 2025 ____________ Before LOKEN, ERICKSON, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge.

Jeremy James Allen filed his original complaint in this matter while incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault. After he was released from custody, Allen amended his complaint. Defendants Cheryl Piepho and Charles Brooks moved for summary judgment, contending Allen’s failure to exhaust his administrative remedies at the time he filed his original complaint acted to bar his claim. The district court 1 denied their motion on the grounds that: (1) the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995’s (“PLRA”) exhaustion requirement did not apply because Allen’s amended complaint was filed after his release, and (2) the amended complaint did not relate back under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(c). We affirm. I. BACKGROUND

On November 10, 2021, Allen filed a complaint against several named officials at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault and John and Jane Doe, who were unidentified members of the medical staff. His complaint alleged deliberate indifference and medical malpractice claims arising from a hand injury occurring in December of 2017. During his incarceration, from July 26, 2017, through April 18, 2022, Allen never filed a grievance with prison officials related to either his injury or medical treatment. He instead commenced this action in state court, which was removed to federal court on December 17, 2021.

1 The Honorable Susan Richard Nelson, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. -2- While his action was pending and less than two weeks after Allen was released from custody, the district court granted Allen’s unopposed motion for leave to amend his complaint.2 In his amended complaint, Allen substituted Charles Brooks and Cheryl Piepho for the John and Jane Doe defendants. All defendants jointly moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Their motion did not raise exhaustion of administrative remedies as a reason for dismissal.

After various parties and claims were voluntarily dismissed, the only remaining claim was Allen’s deliberate indifference claim against Brooks and Piepho. The district court denied their motion to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds, finding that Allen plausibly alleged a violation of his Eighth A