Bamberg v. Deas et al

Filing 22

ORDER ADOPTING 7 Report and Recommendations of the Magistrate Judge. The Plaintiff's Objections are overruled. The Plaintiff's Complaint is dismissed as time-barred. The Clerk is directed to enter the appropriate judgment of dismissal. Signed by Chief Judge Lisa G. Wood on 8/30/2012. (ca)

in the Untteb £tatet flt trict Court
for the 0ouifjern 3t trttt of Georgia
jorut hfck 3ibi ton
DAMON J. B. BAMBERG,
Plaintiff,
vs.

CV 212-026

SHERIFF JIMMY BOATRIGHT;
JAIL ADMINISTRATOR GREGORY
RAINEY, SR.; SHERIFF RICHARD
DEAS; OFFICER GREGORY RAINEY, JR.;
OFFICER BOBBY CLACK; OFFICER
DEXTER LNU,
Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiff Damon J.B. Bamberg ("Plaintiff"), is an inmate
currently incarcerated at Hays State Prison in Trion, Georgia.
On January 30, 2012, Plaintiff filed a Complaint in this Court
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, contesting conditions of his
confinement at the Jeff Davis County Jail in Hazelhurst,
Georgia, where he was previously incarcerated. Dkt. No. 1. In a
Report dated March 5, 2012, the Magistrate Judge recommended
dismissal of Plaintiff's Complaint on the basis that all of the

AO 72A
(Rev. 8/82)

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claims set forth therein were time-barred, as they occurred
between January 19, 2008 and September 15, 2009.1 Dkt. No. 7.
Plaintiff has submitted an Amended Complaint in which he
seeks redress for events that occurred as late as October 1,
2009. Dkt. No. 21. Additionally, Plaintiff has provided a
written objection to the Magistrate Judge's Report and
Recommendation. In pertinent part, this objection states:
The actions and events of this complaint occurred from
January 19 2008 through 1 October 2009; therefore, the
cause of action had to be filed on or before October 1
2011. The Plaintiff filed his complaint jointly with
Sonya L Bamberg on 15 September 2011. That complaint
was dismissed without prejudice as far as this
plaintiff was concerned. The plaintiff received the
notice of this dismissal on 22 December 2011 and
refiled his complaint on or about 22 rd day of January
2011. These dates fall within the applicable statute
of limitations as the Plaintiff was allowed 30 days
after he received notice of his case's (original
complaint's) dismissal to submit [sic] an amended
complaint as an individual plaintiff and he did so.
Dkt. No. 20 at 3-4. Even if the Court were to adopt the
Plaintiff's argument, his Complaint is still time-barred. That
is, he did not re-file his Complaint by January 22, 2012 as he
contends that he was permitted to do. Rather, his Complaint was
not filed until January 30, 2012. Thus, even under the
Plaintiff's own tolling argument, his claims are still timebarred.
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Constitutional claims brought pursuant to § 1983 "are tort actions, subject
to the statute of limitations governing personal injury actions in the state
where the § 1983 action has been brought." Powell v. Thomas, 643 F.3d 1300,
1303 (11th Cir. 2011) . The statute of limitation for a personal injury
action in Georgia is two years. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.
AO 72A
(Rev. 8/82)

Consequently, the Plaintiff's Objections to the Magistrate
Judge's Report and Recommendation are overruled. The Report and
Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge is adopted as the opinion
of the Court. Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED as timebarred. The Clerk of Court is directed to enter the appropriate
judgment of dismissal.

SO ORDERED, this 30th day of August, 2012.

LISA GODBEY 400D, CHIEF JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

AO 72A
(Rev. 8/82)

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