Garrett v. Borden

Section 14.005 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code provides that an inmate, who files a grievance claim subject to section 501.008 of the Government Code, must file with the court "a copy of the written decision from the grievance system." See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 14.005(a)(2). At issue in this appeal is the meaning of the word "copy." The trial court concluded that copy means only photocopy and dismissed the inmates grievance claim because he filed a hand-typed, verbatim copy instead. The court of appeals affirmed the dismissal in a memorandum opinion, with one justice dissenting. 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 3955, 2008 WL 2221807. Because we conclude that a hand-typed, verbatim reproduction satisfies the statutory requirement for a copy of the written grievance decision, we reverse the court of appeals judgment and remand the case to the trial court.