Opinion
Civil Action No. 17-cv-1264(JBS-AMD)
02-07-2018
BRIAN J. ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. CAMDEN COUNTY JAIL, Defendant.
APPEARANCES: Brian J. Robinson, Plaintiff Pro Se 263207-C/1076420 South Woods State Prison 215 South Burlington Road Bridgeton, NJ 08302
OPINION
APPEARANCES: Brian J. Robinson, Plaintiff Pro Se
263207-C/1076420
South Woods State Prison
215 South Burlington Road
Bridgeton, NJ 08302 SIMANDLE, United States District Judge:
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Brian J. Robinson seeks to bring a civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Camden County Jail ("CCJ") for allegedly unconstitutional conditions of confinement. Complaint, Docket Entry 1.
At this time, the Court must review the Complaint, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) to determine whether it should be dismissed as frivolous or malicious, for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or because it seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. For the reasons set forth below, it is clear from the Complaint that the claim arose more than two years before the Complaint was filed. It is therefore barred by the two-year statute of limitations that governs claims of unconstitutional conduct under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court will therefore dismiss the Complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(b)(ii).
II. BACKGROUND
The Complaint alleges that Plaintiff "was housed in a[n] overcrowded cell holding 4 people with 2 bunks. I slept on the floor the whole time. I acquired severe lower back pains, constant sciatic nerve pain, & a sharp intense pain in my right hip which shoots down to my calf. The Camden County Jail injured me for life." Complaint § III(C). Plaintiff states that these events occurred "2013 [for] 4 mos. July to November." Id. § III(B). Plaintiff claims to have sustained a "sciatic nerve issue. I also must do specific yoga stretches to help some of the pain especially in the pm. 7 stretches exactly." Id. § IV. Plaintiff seeks relief of "$100.00 a day for every day spent in the jail" and "my surgery [to relieve sciatic nerve issue] paid for in full." Id. § V.
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Section 1915(e)(2) requires a court to review complaints prior to service of the summons and complaint in cases in which a plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis. The Court must sua sponte dismiss any claim that is frivolous, is malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. This action is subject to sua sponte screening for dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) because Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis.
To survive sua sponte screening for failure to state a claim, the complaint must allege "sufficient factual matter" to show that the claim is facially plausible. Fowler v. UPMS Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Fair Wind Sailing, Inc. v. Dempster, 764 F.3d 303, 308 n.3 (3d Cir. 2014) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678). "[A] pleading that offers 'labels or conclusions' or 'a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.'" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)).
IV. DISCUSSION
The Complaint alleges that Plaintiff experienced unconstitutional conditions of confinement in "2013" during the "4 mo[nth]" period from "July to November" that year. Complaint § III(B). Civil rights claims under § 1983 are governed by New Jersey's limitations period for personal injury and must be brought within two years of the claim's accrual. See Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 276 (1985); Dique v. New Jersey State Police, 603 F.3d 181, 185 (3d Cir. 2010). "Under federal law, a cause of action accrues 'when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury upon which the action is based.'" Montanez v. Sec'y Pa. Dep't of Corr., 773 F.3d 472, 480 (3d Cir. 2014) (quoting Kach v. Hose, 589 F.3d 626, 634 (3d Cir. 2009)).
The allegedly unconstitutional conditions of confinement, namely the purported overcrowding and sleeping conditions in cells, would have been immediately apparent to Plaintiff at the time of detention; therefore, the statute of limitations for Plaintiff's claims expired in November 2015 at the latest, well before this Complaint was filed on February 23, 2017. (Docket Entry 1.) Plaintiff has filed this lawsuit too late. Although the Court may toll, or extend, the statute of limitations in the interests of justice, certain circumstances must be present before it can do so. Tolling is not warranted in this case because the state has not "actively misled" Plaintiff as to the existence of Plaintiff's cause of action, there are no extraordinary circumstances that prevented Plaintiff from filing the claim, and there is nothing to indicate Plaintiff filed the claim on time but in the wrong forum. See Omar v. Blackman, 590 F. App'x 162, 166 (3d Cir. 2014).
As it is clear from the face of the Complaint that more than two years passed from the time when Plaintiff's claims accrued until he filed this Complaint, the Complaint must be dismissed with prejudice, meaning Plaintiff may not file an amended complaint concerning the events in "July to November" of "2013." Complaint § III(B). Ostuni v. Wa Wa's Mart, 532 F. App'x 110, 112 (3d Cir. 2013) (per curiam) (affirming dismissal with prejudice due to expiration of statute of limitations).
V. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the Complaint is dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim. An appropriate order follows. February 7 , 2018
Date
s/ Jerome B. Simandle
JEROME B. SIMANDLE
United States District Judge