WPC # VU>a % 0(4w@ 0J8 0T 0^ 0h4 0r 0| 0 0 1u U, 0dA U, U6 B)DC0 AMsU* B v~'v D3x 0@ AO: 0D D/D BsHP LaserJet 4Si/4SiMX PS 600dpiPSCRIPT0 <( 9Z &Courier RegularX($Gav x3|x~ lmnDoDpqrsDtӀ~2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23   ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)<  9p`(ModernP 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X<  9p`(Monaco<  9p`(Courier New% Line 7 d!!!!7Border 1dd-"C << G<  9p`(Arial d  !  #d#   $$   YYY FILED$XMay8,1996CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk  PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'@Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Monaco   BA Op Monaco  BA Op Monaco %%%%'dxd("$    -C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5($$   1  ' dxdP Pd ! . &Xd&#Xd#    ` X X \RA'\7~/Xdd7  HARLANWHITE, )  )#` XxX# Petitioner/Appellant, ) AppealNo.  ) 01A019602CH00071v.  )  ) DavidsonChancerySTATEOFTENNESSEE, ) No.951598IIIٜL#&";+'h|J`  `LߛTENNESSEEDEPARTMENTOF )̜CORRECTION, )  ) Respondents/Appellees. )   COURTOFAPPEALSOFTENNESSEEMIDDLESECTIONATNASHVILLEAPPEALFROMTHECHANCERYCOURTFORDAVIDSONCOUNTYATNASHVILLE,TENNESSEETHEHONORABLEROBERTS.BRANDT,CHANCELLOR ` XX    XHARLANWHITE,ProSeL.C.R.C.F.Route1,Box330Tiptonville,Tennessee38079CHARLESW.BURSONAttorneyGeneralandReporterPATRICIAC.KUSSMANNAssistantAttorneyGeneralCivilRightsandClaimsDivision404JamesRobertsonParkwaySuite2000Nashville,Tennessee37243 ATTORNEYSFORRESPONDENTS/APPELLEES  ӜAFFIRMEDANDREMANDED   SAMUELL.LEWIS,JUDGE   O ԀPINION  #` ` X# X Thisisanappealbypetitioner,HarlanWhite,fromthetrialcourtsorderdismissinghispetitionfordeclaratoryjudgmentonthegroundthatpetitionerfailedtoexhausthisadministrativeremedies. PetitionerfiledapetitionfordeclaratoryjudgmentwiththeTennesseeDepartmentofCorrection("Department")inMarch1995.HeclaimedtheDepartmentfailedtocalculatehissentenceexpirationdateforoneconviction,hissentencereductioncredits,andthedateuponwhichhewouldbeeligibleforparoleconsideration.BasedonaclaimthattheDepartmentfailedtoprovidehimatimelyhearing,petitionerfiledapetitionfordeclaratoryjudgmentintheChanceryCourtforDavidsonCountyagainstrespondentson22May1995. On30May1995,WilmaLutche,legalassistantfortheDepartmentofCorrection,respondedtopetitionersrequestfordeclaratoryorderbyletter.Inhisresponse,Mr.LutcheadvisedpetitionerthattheDepartmentwaspostponingitsdecisiononhisrequestuntilpetitionerpresentedhisquestionstohiscounselorwhowouldthencontacttheinstitutionsrecordofficeandsentencemanagementservicesifnecessary.Mr.Lutchefurtheradvisedpetitionerthat,ifhehadalreadyattemptedtoresolvehisquestionthroughthosechannels,heshouldsendtheDepartmentdocumentationwhichverifiedhisattempts.Petitionerfiledamotionfor"judicialestopple[sic]"inregardtotheletterandattachedasupplementtohispetitionandarequestfororalargumenttitled"writofhabeascorpustestificandum." PetitionersubsequentlymovedtoamendhispetitiontoaddadditionaldefendantswhoareemployeesoftheDepartmentandwhoareassociatedwithpetitionersrecords.ThecourtdeniedhismotioninAugust1995.Next,petitionerfiledawrittenargumentassertingthattheDepartmentsfailuretocalculatehissentenceinthemannerheproposedinhispetitionwasunconstitutionalandillegal. RespondentsfiledamotiontodismisspetitionerspetitioninJuly1995onthegroundthatpetitionerhadfailedtocomplywiththejurisdictionalprerequisitesforfilingapetitionfordeclaratoryjudgment.RespondentsaccompaniedtheirmotionwiththeaffidavitofCandaceWhisman,aDepartmentofCorrectionssentenceinformationservicetechnician.TheaffidavitexplainedtheDepartmentsinabilitytocalculatepetitionerssentenceexpirationdateuntilitreceivedinformationfromthesentencingcourtregardingpetitionerssentence. Beforerespondingtothemotiontodismiss,petitionerfiledasecondsupplementtohispetitionfordeclaratoryorderexplaininghiscalculationofhissentence.Inresponsetotherespondentsmotion,petitionerinsistedtheyhadnolegalgrounds.InathirdsupplementfiledinAugust1995,petitionertookissuewiththeDepartmentsrefusaltocalculatehissentencebeforereceivinginformationfromthesentencingcourtandcomplainedhehadattemptedtoresolvethequestionataninstitutionallevel. Thechancerycourtgrantedrespondentsmotionon30August1995anddismissedpetitionerspetitiononthegroundthathehadfailedtoexhausthisadministrativeremedies. PetitioneriscurrentlyinthecustodyoftheDepartmentofCorrectionattheLakeCountyRegionalCorrectionFacilityinTiptonville,Tennessee.AfterbeingconvictedofarmedrobberyinShelbyCountyin1987,acourtsentencedpetitionertotenyears.PetitionerwasparoledinMarch1989,butthenviolatedhisparolebypossessingahandgunandcommittingforgery.HewasreturnedtotheDepartmentscustodyinApril1993. Subsequently,acourtconvictedpetitionerofforgeryandpossessionofahandguninShelbyCounty,butitdidnotsentencehimuntilFebruary1994atwhichtimehereceivedtwoconcurrenttwoyearsentences.Oneofthesentencesstatedthatpetitionerwastoservethesentenceconsecutivelytoaconvictionincaseno.8700833.TheDepartmenthadnoinformationaboutcaseno.8700833andwasunabletocalculatepetitionersreleaseeligibilitydateuntilitreceivedtheinformation. Thesoleissueonappealiswhetherthetrialcourtproperlydismissedpetitionerspetitionfordeclaratoryjudgment. TennesseeCodeAnnotatedsection45224(b)(1991)provides:"Adeclaratoryjudgmentshallnotberenderedconcerningthevalidityorapplicabilityofastatute,ruleororderunlessacomplainanthaspetitionedtheagencyforadeclaratoryorderandtheagencyhasrefusedtoissueadeclaratoryorder."Intheinstantcase,theDepartmenthasnotrefusedtoissueadeclaratoryorder.Instead,itisunabletodosobecauseofϜpetitionersfailuretoresolvehiscomplaintortodocumenthisattemptstoresolvehiscomplaint.Althoughpetitionerprovidedthenecessaryinformationtothetrialcourt,wefindnothingintherecordtoshowthatheprovidedtheDepartmentwiththeinformationitneededtorespondtohisrequestforadeclaratoryorder.Therefore,adeclaratoryjudgmentonthisissueispremature. Thepurposeofrequiringthatadministrativeremediesbeexhaustedpriortojudicialrevieware:,"` ` X%X,8 1) avoidanceofprematureinterruptionoftheadministrativeprocess,8 2) provisionfortheagencytoapplyitsexpertiseandtodeveloparecord,and8 3) maintenanceofjudicialefficiencybyeliminationofasmanycomplaintsasmaybethroughtheadministrativeprocesspriortojudicialreview. Seepev.DepartmentoftheNavy ,518F.2d760,764(6thCir.1975). Intheinstantcase,theDepartmenthasnothadtheopportunitytoaddresspetitionerscomplaint.Ifhehasfollowedtheprocedureoutlinedinthecorrespondencetohim,hehasfailedtoprovidetheDepartmentwithanydocumentationoftheseattempts.Simplyinitiatingtheadministrativeprocess,aspetitionerhasdone,isnotthesameasexhaustinghisadministrativeremedies.HemustpursuehisremediesthroughtheDepartmenttotheirconclusion. Braceyv.Woods ,571S.W.2d828,829(Tenn.1978). Intheinstantcase,theDepartmentwasunabletoissueadeclaratoryorderbecausepetitionerhadnotmettheprerequisitesϜforrequestingadeclaratoryordernorhadhedocumentedhisattemptstoresolvehisquestionsthroughhiscounselor,theinstitutionsrecordofficepersonnel,orthesentencinginformationservices.Itispossiblethattheprocessofadministrativereviewwouldresolvepetitionerscomplaintandwouldrenderasuitunnecessary.Untilpetitionerexhaustshisadministrativeremedies,thiscontroversyisnotripeforϜadjudication.Thetrialcourtproperlydismissedthepetitionfordeclaratoryjudgment. Judgmentofthetrialcourtisaffirmed,andthecostsareassessedtopetitioner/appellant,HarlanWhite.Thecauseisremandedtothetrialcourtforfurthernecessaryproceedings.Ӝ   __________________________________   SAMUELL.LEWIS,JUDGECONCUR:_________________________________HENRYF.TODD,P.J.,M.S._________________________________BENH.CANTRELL,JUDGE