WHITWORTH v. FRANKLIN COUNTY DETENTION CENTER

District Court, M.D. Georgia·Decided September 12, 2025·No. 3:25-cv-00106·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATHENS DIVISION MIRANDA WHITWORTH, Plaintiff, v. CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:25-cv-00106-TES FRANKLIN COUNTY DETENTION CENTER, et al., Defendants.

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

After the Court dismissed pro se Plaintiff Miranda Whitworth’s claims brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as time-barred by the applicable statute of limitations, she filed a Motion for Reconsideration [Doc. 7]. In her motion, Plaintiff relies on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1) and 60(b)(6). [Doc. 7, p. 2]. These two provisions within Rule 60(b) permit relief from a final judgment, order, or proceeding due to: “(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect” or for “(6) any other reason that justifies relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1) & (6). After careful review of Plaintiff’s motion and the applicable law, reconsideration is DENIED. As a brief recap, the Court sua sponte dismissed Plaintiff’s § 1983 claims as time- barred.1 [Doc. 5, pp. 3–6]; see United States v. Henco Holding Corp., 985 F.3d 1290, 1296

1 The Court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s remaining state law claims, and she may pursue them in state court. [Doc. 5, pp. 7–8]; see Artis v. District of Columbia, 583 U.S. 71, 77 (2018). (11th Cir. 2021) (holding that a district court may properly dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim if it is apparent from the face of the complaint that the applicable

statute of limitations bars the claim); Simpson v. Florida, 708 F. App’x 635, 636 (11th Cir. 2018) (“A district court may properly dismiss a § 1983 complaint sua sponte, without requiring any responsive pleadings, for failure to state a claim if the action would be

barred by the state’s statute of limitations.”); Smith v. Mercer, 580 F. App’x 871, 872–73 (11th Cir. 2014) (affirming sua sponte dismissal of § 1983 claims as time-barred). Notwithstanding the fact that the applicable statute of limitations for Plaintiff’s § 1983

claims was within days of expiring, Plaintiff mailed her documents to the Clerk of Court instead of physically taking “them to the local divisional clerk’s office in Athens, Georgia—or to any of the divisional clerk’s offices within the Middle District of Georgia.” [Doc. 5, p. 6]. In this case, that course of action caused her filings to be

untimely. Not by much, but they were nonetheless filed with the Clerk of Court too late. A. The Court’s Dismissal on Statute of Limitations Grounds From the date found on the face of her pleadings—June 24, 2023—it was

absolutely clear that Plaintiff let the applicable, two-year statute of limitations expire. See [Doc. 1, p. 4 (listing occurrence date as “June 24, 2023”)], and Complaint, Whitworth v. St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hosp. (“Whitworth II”), No. 3:25-cv-00108-TES (M.D. Ga. June 30, 2025), Dkt. No. 1 at p. 5 (listing occurrence date as “June 24, 2023”), in connection with

Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 387 (2007) (holding that the statute of limitations for claims brought under § 1983 is governed by the statute of limitations for personal injury actions in the state where the cause of action arose), and O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 (“. . . actions

for injuries to the person shall be brought within two years after the right of action accrues . . .”). Plaintiff filed this case on June 27, 2025. See [Doc. 1, p. 1 (stamp filed as received on “250627”)]. And she filed Whitworth II on June 30, 2025. See Complaint, No.

3:25-cv-00108-TES (M.D. Ga. June 30, 2025), Dkt. No. 1 at p. 1 (CM/ECF filing notation of “Filed 06/30/25”); see also [Doc. 5, pp. 4–5]. Therefore, both cases—because “the events giving rise to” her § 1983 claims occurred on June 24, 2023—needed to be filed by June

24, 2025, and they were not. [Doc. 1, p. 4]; Complaint, Whitworth II, No. 3:25-cv-00108- TES (M.D. Ga. June 30, 2025), Dkt. No. 1 at p. 5. The Court will not fully recycle its positions here as they can be found in its previous Order, but Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 3 is clear: “A civil action is

commenced by filing a complaint with the court.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 3; see generally [Doc. 5]. Further, to define what constitutes filings, Rule 5 is equally as clear: “A paper not filed electronically is filed by delivering it: (A) to the clerk; or (B) to a judge who agrees to

accept it for filing, who must then note the filing date on the paper and promptly send it to the clerk.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(2) (emphasis added). That’s it—filing is done either by (A) or by (B). Rule 3 does not say that “[a] civil action is commenced by [signing a complaint and placing it in the mail].” A “lawsuit is considered filed on the date the

[C]lerk [of Court] receives the complaint.” Joye v. Sec. Dep’t of Navy, 736 F. App’x 861, 864 (11th Cir. 2018) (citing Robinson v. City of Fairfield, 750 F.2d 1507, 1509 n.2 (11th Cir. 1985) (“[F]or purposes of determining whether the plaintiff commenced [an] action

within the required [limitations] period, we look only to the date on which the [C]lerk [of Court] actually received the [complaint].”)). B. Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration

As grounds for reconsideration, Plaintiff contends that there were three reasons why she let the statute of limitations expire with respect to her § 1983 claims asserted in both this case and Whitworth II. See generally [Doc. 7]. According to Plaintiff, these three

reasons were “entirely beyond [her] control.” [Id. at p. 1]. As far as Rule 60(b) is concerned, Plaintiff argues that “excusable neglect and extraordinary circumstances warrant[] relief” from the Court’s ruling. [Id. at p. 3]; Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1) & (6). In other words, Plaintiff wants the Court—through the federal doctrine of equitable

tolling—to waive the applicable statute of limitations for her § 1983 claims and allow them to proceed (at least until such time as the affirmative defense is raised by her adversaries).2

2 The Court acknowledges that statutes of limitation are usually issues raised by an affirmative defense. Nonetheless, when a plaintiff proceeds in forma pauperis in a civil action (as Plaintiff has been permitted to proceed here), courts, as just discussed, may consider affirmative defenses that are apparent from the face of the complaint. Clark v. Ga. Pardons and Parole Bd., 915 F.2d 636, 640 n.2 (11th Cir. 1990); see also Ali v. Higgs, 892 F.2d 438, 440 (5th Cir. 1990). “[I]f the district court sees that an affirmative defense would defeat the action,” a dismissal under § 1915(e) “is allowed.” Clark, 915 F.2d at 640; see also Okpala v. Drew, 248 F. App’x 72, 73 (11th Cir. 2007) (holding that “the district court did not err by dismissing the complaint . . . because . . . an affirmative defense . . .

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