Background
Dean Michaels Stevens, proceeding pro se, appealed from a district court’s summary judgment in his action brought under Section nineteen hundred and eighty-three of Title forty-two of the United States Code. The underlying claim alleged excessive force. The district court concluded the action was barred by the statute of limitations.
The court’s reasoning
The panel reviewed the district court’s decision de novo. The court applied federal law to determine claim accrual and borrowed California’s two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims along with its tolling rules. The court found that Stevens failed to file within the applicable time limit, even accounting for statutory tolling due to incarceration. Additionally, Stevens did not raise a genuine dispute of material fact regarding tolling based on legal incapacity.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that plaintiffs must strictly adhere to statutes of limitations in Section nineteen hundred and eighty-three cases, even when incarcerated, and must provide evidence to support tolling arguments.
Podcast (federal-narrative-summaries): Play in new window | Download