Jonathon D. Carver v. Christine Burns-Hines, Bennie Vick, and Christopher Ray

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois dismissed Jonathon D. Carver’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action with prejudice at the preliminary-review stage. The court held that the claims were barred by Illinois’s two-year statute of limitations and deemed the action frivolous, counting the dismissal as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

Holdings

1. Because 42 U.S.C. § 1983 contains no statute of limitations, Illinois's two-year limitations period for personal-injury actions governed the claims. The complaint showed on its face that the alleged injuries occurred between 2011 and 2017 and that the action was not filed until September 2025; therefore, the claims were time-barred.
2. A district court may dismiss a complaint at the pleading or preliminary-screening stage when the complaint itself establishes a valid statute-of-limitations defense and the action is therefore frivolous.
3. The action was dismissed with prejudice as time-barred and frivolous, and the dismissal counted as one strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court could dismiss the § 1983 complaint at preliminary screening because the face of the complaint established that the claims were barred by Illinois's two-year statute of limitations.
2. Whether dismissal as time-barred warranted dismissal with prejudice and assessment of a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

Disposition

dismissed