Kruppenbacher v. Bellamy

Background

Joseph Kruppenbacher filed claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that permits certain civil-rights claims against state officials. The court had allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee under the federal fee-waiver statute. On March 23, 2020, the court ordered him to show why the claims should not be dismissed as barred by the limitations period, meaning the deadline for filing them.

The order required Kruppenbacher to submit a declaration within 60 days and warned that failing to respond would result in dismissal. He did not submit the declaration. A footnote explains that mail was returned, but the court could not determine whether Kruppenbacher refused the order or received it and failed to respond. The court stated that this issue did not affect its decision because the claims were untimely.

Ruling

Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the complaint as time-barred under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii), which requires dismissal of certain fee-waived complaints that fail to state a legally viable claim, including claims barred by the applicable time limit. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.

The ruling was a procedural dismissal based on timeliness and the court’s screening of a fee-waived complaint. The order did not resolve the underlying civil-rights claims on their merits.