Summary
The Fourth Circuit held that 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims arising in West Virginia are subject to the state's two-year general personal-injury limitations period under West Virginia Code § 55-2-12(b), rather than the one-year period in subsection (c). The court concluded that Ashley Anna Cooper timely filed her malicious-prosecution claim against the individual officers because her claim accrued when the underlying criminal proceeding was dismissed. It affirmed dismissal of the claim against the City of Wheeling because the complaint did not plausibly allege a municipal policy or custom under Monell, reversed dismissal as to the individual officers, and remanded.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Which West Virginia statute of limitations applies to a § 1983 malicious-prosecution claim arising in West Virginia when the state provides multiple personal-injury limitations periods?
- Whether Cooper's claim was timely under West Virginia Code § 55-2-12(b).
- Whether the complaint plausibly alleged § 1983 municipal liability against the City of Wheeling under Monell.
Holdings
- The applicable limitations period for § 1983 claims arising in West Virginia is the two-year residual or general personal-injury period in West Virginia Code § 55-2-12(b), regardless of the claim's survivability under state law or the underlying tort theory.
- Cooper's claim accrued on January 23, 2023, when the criminal charge was dismissed, and her December 16, 2024 complaint was filed within the applicable two-year limitations period.
- The complaint failed to state a § 1983 claim against the City of Wheeling because it did not plausibly allege an official municipal policy or custom that caused the constitutional violation.
Key quotations
“Accordingly, we make clear today -- to the extent it was not already clear -- that the applicable statute of limitations period for § 1983 claims arising in West Virginia is two years pursuant to Section 55-2-12(b), regardless of the survivability of a claim in state law, because the Supreme Court has held that all § 1983 claims are to be governed by the state’s general or residual personal injury limitations period when a state provides multiple statutes of limitations for personal injury actions.” (10-11)
“Appellant’s complaint does not put forth any allegation against the City of Wheeling that could plausibly approximate a municipal policy or custom that would support the City’s liability under a Monell theory.” (13)
Factual background
Wheeling police investigated a battery complaint in December 2021 and obtained an arrest warrant for Ashley Cooper. In November 2022, officers arrested Ashley Anna Cooper pursuant to the warrant, although the actual suspect was Ashley Marie Cooper. The charge was dismissed at the initial hearing on January 23, 2023, and Cooper filed a § 1983 action on December 16, 2024 alleging arrest without probable cause and malicious prosecution.
Procedural history
Cooper sued the City of Wheeling and two officers after she was arrested pursuant to a warrant issued for another person with a similar name. The district court concluded that the complaint asserted a § 1983 malicious-prosecution claim but applied West Virginia's one-year limitations period under West Virginia Code § 55-2-12(c) and dismissed the claim as untimely. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit held that the two-year period in subsection (b) applied, but affirmed dismissal of the claim against the City because the complaint did not plausibly allege a municipal policy or custom.
Remand instructions
The case was remanded for further proceedings on Cooper's timely § 1983 claim against the individual officers. The dismissal of the claim against the City of Wheeling was affirmed.