Pumphrey

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 4 TYRONE PUMPHREY, Case No. 21-cv-09005-JSC

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR

v. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

BRANDON BATTLES, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 48 Defendants.

This dispute raises a novel question of law. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 does not contain a statute of limitations. When a federal civil rights statute does not include its own statute of limitations, federal courts borrow the forum state’s limitations period for personal injury torts. Bonneau v. Centennial Sch. Dist. No. 28J, 666 F.3d 577, 580-581 (9th Cir. 2012). Federal courts also borrow “closely related” state law tolling rules. Id. Here, the Court must determine “how much . . . state law should be borrowed.” Sain v. City of Bend, 309 F.3d 1134, 1138 (9th Cir. 2002). Specifically, the Court must decide whether to borrow a tolling rule (“Emergency Rule 9”) issued by the Judicial Council of California in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If federal law borrows Emergency Rule 9’s…