Kevin Duncan v. City of Simi Valley

MEMORANDUM

Kevin Duncan, a Simi Valley peace officer, filed this action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 against defendants Simi Valley (his employer) and Michael Lewis (the Simi Valley Chief of Police). The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim on statute of limitations grounds. We review de novo, Gant v. County of Los Angeles, 772 F.3d 608, 614 (9th Cir.2014), and affirm.

The parties agree that the applicable statute of limitations is two years. Hacienda Valley Mobile Estates v. City of Morgan Hill, 353 F.3d 651 , 654 & n. 2 (9th Cir.2003). The statute of limitations begins to run when the plaintiffs claim accrues. Lukovsky v. City and County of San Francisco, 535 F.3d 1044, 1048 (9th Cir.2008). In the employment context, the claim accrues when the plaintiff suffers an adverse employment action. Id.

The parties further agree that Duncan first suffered an adverse employment action in March of 2010 when he was put on paid administrative leave and humiliated in front of his colleagues. Duncan argues that the discipline imposed at the end of his leave constitutes a separate adverse employment action that restarts the…