Ohio Supreme Court Limits Federal Civil Rights Claims to Two Years.

Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court decided that Ohio Revised Code § 2305.10’s two year statute of limitations applied to federal civil rights claims – such as § 1983 claims -- which lack a federal statute of limitations. Nadra v. Mbah, 2008-Ohio-3918. Section 1983 claims are frequently brought against government entities, agencies, employees and officers by government employees and regular citizens alleging that the plaintiff’s federal civil rights were violated under color of state law.

In Nadra, Franklin County Children Services employees and the Columbus Police investigated plaintiff’s home and found her “nine-year-old son locked in the basement. On January 3, 2002,” defendant FCCS employees “filed a complaint alleging that Nadra punished her son by locking him in the basement, chaining him to a pole at times, withholding food from him, and making him use a bucket as a toilet. Consequently, the complaint asserted that Nadra’s son was abused, neglected, and dependent.” Custody was eventually awarded to the child’s father and a jury acquitted plaintiff of criminal charges filed in the matter. Thereafter – more than two years after the child had been removed from her home, the plaintiff filed suit against the children services employees alleging that they violated her civil rights under color of state law under § 1983.

Writing for the majority, Justice Stratton wrote that the court was “asked to determine which statute of limitations governs actions filed in Ohio under Section 1983, Title 42, U.S. Code. The Supreme Court has instructed that in Section 1983 actions, courts must apply a state’s general or residual statute of limitations that governs personal-injury actions. Owens v. Okure (1989), 488 U.S. 235, 109 S.Ct. 573, 102 L.Ed.2d 594. We hold that R.C. 2305.10, which contains a two-year limitations period, is Ohio’s general statute of limitations governing personal injury in Ohio. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals.”

The dissent and the Franklin County Court of Appeals had concluded that the four-year statute of limitations in O.R.C. § 2505.09 applied. R.C. 2305.09 provides in relevant part that: “An action for any of the following causes of action shall be brought within four years after the cause thereof accrued: * * * (D) For an injury to the rights of the plaintiff not arising on contract nor enumerated in sections, 2305.10 to 2305.12 * * * of the Revised Code.” In contrast, the statute which the Court found to apply provides in relevant part that “an action “for bodily injury or injuring personal property shall be brought within two years” after the cause of action accrues.”

Insomniacs can read the full decision at http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2008/2008-Ohio-3918.pdf.

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.