Jonathan Cooke, Charles Farrior, Terry Harris, Destinee Kittrell, Delores Kittrell, Davanna Johnson, Chutney Nance v. City of Raleigh, Detective Omar I. Abdullah, and Detective Rishar Pierre Monroe, in their individual and official capacities

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina grants defendants’ motions to dismiss claims arising from the execution of search warrants in Raleigh. The court holds that the plaintiffs’ federal civil rights, constitutional, personal injury, and negligence claims are barred by the applicable three-year statutes of limitations. The court dismisses the remaining state-law civil-liability-for-acts-of-terrorism claim without prejudice after declining supplemental jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. A court may apply a statute-of-limitations affirmative defense at the motion-to-dismiss stage when the defense is apparent from the face of the complaint and the complaint forecloses the plaintiff's potential rejoinder.
2. Plaintiffs' § 1983, § 1985, North Carolina constitutional, personal-injury, and negligence claims were barred by applicable three-year statutes of limitations and were dismissed with prejudice.
3. After dismissing the federal claims, the court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state-law civil-liability-for-acts-of-terror claim and dismissed it without prejudice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the statute-of-limitations defense could be resolved on defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motions.
2. Whether plaintiffs' § 1983, § 1985, North Carolina constitutional, personal-injury, and negligence claims were barred by the applicable three-year limitations periods.
3. Whether the court should exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state-law civil-liability-for-acts-of-terror claim after dismissing the federal claims.

Disposition

dismissed