Background
Robert Lee Hale filed a pro se action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging violations of his Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights against Sandra Stillwater, Kenneth VonHelmolt, and Eric Crosson. The district court dismissed the action, and Hale appealed the judgment.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the dismissal de novo. It concluded that the district court properly dismissed the action as time-barred because Hale failed to file within the applicable statute of limitations. The court applied California Civil Procedure Code Section three three five one, which sets a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims, noting that Section one nine eight three claims are governed by the forum state’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that civil rights plaintiffs must adhere to the forum state’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims when bringing Section one nine eight three actions, or risk dismissal regardless of the underlying constitutional allegations.
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