Hill
Hill v. Prunty
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Hill alleges that he was involuntarily exposed to environmental tobacco smoke in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights from April 27, 1993, to June 23, 1996, while he was incarcerated in state prison. Under California law, the statute of limitations for section 1983 actions is one year. Fink v. Shedler, 192 F.3d 911, 913-14 (9th Cir.1999). But for continuing violations, the clock does not begin to run until the violation ends, see Green v. L.A. County Superintendent of Schs., 883 F.2d 1472, 1480-81 (9th Cir.1989), and the statute is tolled for a maximum of two years if plaintiff is imprisoned on a criminal charge for a term less than life, see Cal.Civ.Proc. Code § 352.1. This means that the last day for Hill to file his complaint was June 23, *419 1999. Hill, however, didn’t file his complaint until January 2000, so his claims are time barred. That Hill had previously filed a separate action in 1996 does not change the result. The 1996 complaint was dismissed “without prejudice to refiling.” Hill didn’t amend his old complaint, but commenced an entirely new action over six months late.