Pena v. Gonzalez

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: March 12, 2025
• Docket: 24-20163
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 24-20163 Document: 42-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/12/2025

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals ____________ Fifth Circuit

FILED No. 24-20163 March 12, 2025 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk

Martin Pena, Jr.,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus

Ed Gonzalez, Sheriff of Harris County; Joshua Dillard, Jailer/ Public Servant,

Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:22-CV-4216 ______________________________

Before Higginbotham, Jones, and Oldham, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Martin Pena, Jr., Texas prisoner # 2399103, appeals the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint. He argues that the district court erred by concluding that his complaint was time barred. We review a summary judgment de novo, using the same standard as that employed by the district court. QBE Ins. Corp. v. _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 24-20163 Document: 42-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/12/2025

No. 24-20163

Brown & Mitchell, Inc., 591 F.3d 439, 442 (5th Cir. 2009). Summary judgment is proper where “competent summary judgment evidence demonstrates that there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Id. at 442-43; see Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (c). There is no federal statute of limitations for actions brought pursuant to § 1983, so federal courts borrow the personal injury limitations period and tolling provisions of the forum state. Gartrell v. Gaylor, 981 F.2d 254, 256 (5th Cir. 1993); Walker v. Epps, 550 F.3d 407, 415 (5th Cir. 2008). “In Texas, the applicable limitations period is two years” from the date on which the cause of action accrues. Gartrell, 981 F.2d at 256.; see Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 16.003(a). Pena has not shown that the district court erred by granting summary judgment because there is no genuine issue of material fact that his § 1983 action was filed more than two years after he exhausted the available administrative remedies for the alleged constitutional violation. AFFIRMED.