And the cause of action for false arrest accrues on the date of arrest. Leatherwood v. City of Key West, 347 So.2d 441, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977) (per curiam). Prior to dismissing an action on its own motion, a court must typically provide the plaintiff with notice and an opportunity to respond to the contemplated dismissal.
Id. (emphasis removed); seeLeatherwood v. City of Key W. , 347 So.2d 441, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977) (finding that cause of action for false imprisonment accrues on the date of arrest, not on the date of ultimate dismissal of the charges).
Once Pearson was arrested in Florida (on March 15, 2019), his cause of action under Florida law for false arrest and false imprisonment began to accrue. See, e.g., Hitchmon v. United States, 585 F.Supp. 256, 260 (S.D. Fla. 1984); Leatherwood v. City of Key West, 347 So.2d 441 (Fla.App.1977), cert, denied, 358 So.2d 131 (Fla.1978); Gordon v. City of Belle Glade, 132 So.2d449, 451-53 (Fla.App.1961).
Under Florida law, claims for false arrest/imprisonment accrue on the date of the allegedly unlawful arrest. See, e.g., Leatherwood v. City of Key W., 347 So.2d 441, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977) (โThe cause of action for false arrest and imprisonment accrued on the day of plaintiff's arrest.โ).
); contra Leatherwood v. Key West, 347 So.2d 441, 442 (Fla. App. 1977); Parker v. Mississippi Game & Fish Comm'n, 555 So.2d 725, 727 (Miss. 1989).
Florida state law claims for false arrest accrue on the date of the arrest. Scullock v. Gee, 161 So. 3d 421, 422 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014); Leatherwood v. City of Key West, 347 So. 2d 441, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). Plaintiff was arrested on February 13, 2009.
Other courts have taken different approaches to when common-law claims of false arrest and false imprisonment accrue and the statute of limitations begins to run. There appear to be three different times from which courts have found the statute of limitations begins to run: (i) at the time of arrest, see Wallace v. City of Chicago, 471 F.Supp.2d 894, 898 (N.D.Ill.2004) (applying Illinois law, and holding that the statute of limitations on a false imprisonment claim begins to run at the time false imprisonment begins); Leatherwood v. Key West, 347 So.2d 441, 442 (Fla.App.1977) (โThe cause of action for false arrest and imprisonment accrued on the day of plaintiff's arrest ....โ), cert. denied,358 So.2d 131 (Fla.1978); Brooks v. Pennington, 995 So.2d 733, 737 (Miss.Ct.App.2007) (stating that โa complaint for false arrest and false imprisonment accrues on the date of arrest.โ); (ii) at the time of arraignment or when legal process is initiated, see Johnson v. Blackwell, 885 N.E.2d 25, 31 (Ind.Ct.App.2008) (holding that โJohnson's cause of action for false imprisonment/false arrest accrued when he was bound over for trial in March 2003,โ and not when he was arrested in February 2003 or when he was released in 2006); Dunn v. Felty, 226 S.W.3d 68, 72 (Ky.2007) (holding that the false imprisonment ended when the plaintiff began being held pursuant to legal processโthe date when he was arraigned on the chargesโbecause, based on the elements of false imprisonment, he had a complete cause of action at that point); and (iii) at the time of termination of the false or
The date upon which an action accrues for false arrest or unlawful seizure is the date of the false arrest or unlawful seizure. See Diaz v. Metro Dade Police Dep't, 557 So.2d 608, 609 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1990); Hansen v. State, 503 So.2d 1324, 1326 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Leatherwood v. City of Key West, 347 So.2d 441, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). Tozier's arrest occurred on June 24, 2006. As such, Tozier's notice was untimely as to his state law false arrest claim and the other state law tort claims that accrued upon Tozier's arrest including trespass/invasion and assault-battery.
A claim for false arrest accrues on the day of a plaintiff's arrest. City of Miami v. Brooks, 70 So. 2d 306, 307-09 (Fla. 1954); Diaz v. Metro-Dade Police Dep't, 557 So. 2d 608, 609 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Leatherwood v. City of Key West, 347 So. 2d 441, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Gordon v. City of Belle Glade, 132 So. 2d 449 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961). A plaintiff must assert a false arrest claim no later than four years after accrual. Fla. Stat. ยง 95.11(3)(o). The four-year limitation in Section 95.11(3), Florida Statutes, applies also to a claim under Section 1983.
Olson v. Johnson, 961 So. 2d 356, 359 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). A cause of action for false arrest and imprisonment accrues on the day of plaintiff's arrest. Leatherwood v. City of Key West, 347 So.2d 441, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), cert. denied, 358 So.2d 131 (Fla. 1978). See also Kelly v. Serna, 87 F.3d 1235, 1238 (11th Cir. 1996) (a claim for damages relating to a conviction or sentence accrues on the date when the conviction or sentence is reversed).