Shung Moore v. Rob Jeffreys, Darren Galloway, Lt. Browning, Jay Medley, Sgt. Huering, Sgt. Vaughn, Sgt. Thompson, Sgt. Crim, Sgt. Kunath, Sgt. Bernard, Sgt. Williams, and Sgt. Dean

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois dismissed Shung Moore’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action concerning allegedly frigid segregation-cell conditions at Shawnee Correctional Center. The court held that the claims were filed beyond Illinois’s two-year statute of limitations for personal-injury actions and dismissed the complaint with prejudice. The court directed the Clerk to close the case and enter judgment.

Holdings

1. The claims were time-barred because Illinois's two-year statute of limitations for personal-injury actions applies to the § 1983 claims, and Moore filed suit more than two years after the alleged injuries.
2. A district court may dismiss a complaint during threshold screening when the plaintiff pleads facts establishing that the claims are legally time-barred.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the prisoner's § 1983 claims arising from alleged unconstitutional living conditions and differential treatment were barred by the applicable two-year statute of limitations.
2. Whether the district court could dismiss the complaint with prejudice during § 1915A screening because the complaint's allegations established that the claims were untimely.

Disposition

dismissed