PETERSON v. CAMDEN COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Filing
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OPINION. Signed by Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle on 4/26/2017. (tf, n.m.)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
WINSTON J. PETERSON,
HONORABLE JEROME B. SIMANDLE
Plaintiff,
Civil Action
No. 16-9141(JBS-AMD)
v.
CAMDEN COUNTY CORRECTIONAL
FACILITY,
OPINION
Defendant.
APPEARANCES:
Winston J. Peterson, Plaintiff Pro Se
200 Parker Ave., Apt. B
Woodlyne, NJ 08107
SIMANDLE, Chief District Judge:
INTRODUCTION
Winston J. Peterson seeks to bring a civil rights complaint
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Camden County
Correctional Facility (“CCCF”). Complaint, Docket Entry 1. Based
on Plaintiff’s affidavit of indigency, the Court will grant his
application to proceed in forma pauperis.
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
Plaintiff alleges that he was detained in the CCCF on the
following dates: October 10, 2002, April 18, 2006, July 27,
2007, September 16, 2007 and December 7, 2010. Complaint § III.
He further alleges that during these various detentions the
facility was overcrowded and he had to sleep on the floor. While
incarcerated, he sustained numerous illnesses and injuries. Id.
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.
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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
Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that he experienced
unconstitutional conditions of confinement while he was detained
in the CCCF on October 10, 2002, April 18, 2006, July 27, 2007,
September 16, 2007 and December 7, 2010. 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
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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 at
CCCF would have been immediately apparent to Plaintiff at the
time of his detention; therefore, the statute of limitations for
Plaintiff’s claims expired on December 7, 2012 at the latest,
well before this complaint was filed in 2016. Plaintiff has
filed his 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 his cause of
action, there are no extraordinary circumstances that prevented
Plaintiff from filing his claim, and there is nothing to
indicate Plaintiff filed his 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 have passed since Plaintiff’s claims accrued, the
complaint is dismissed with prejudice, meaning he may not file
an amended complaint concerning the events of October 10, 2002,
April 18, 2006, July 27, 2007, September 16, 2007 and December
7, 2010. Ostuni v. Wa Wa's Mart, 532 F. App’x 110, 112 (3d Cir.
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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.
April 26, 2017
Date
s/ Jerome B. Simandle
JEROME B. SIMANDLE
Chief U.S. District Judge
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