Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California

Declaratory relief in Title 42 Sec. 1983 claim?

This is about a federal Title 42 Sec. 1983 action. I am confident that I am entitled to monetary damages, if the state actor individuals are liable (i.e. a question of qualified immunity). I don't want to be researching that and put off seeking prospective relief I believe I am entitled to now, which will get me working now. The actors are the Calif. Dept. of Ed.'s J. O'Connell and J. Cummings and all the members of the Calif. Board of Ed., where these parties have the power to ''list'' me (or not) as an eligible ''tutor'' to be hired by Calif. school districts ''in need of improvement'' to tutor students from eligible (low income) households. These state actor individuals interpret federal and state regulations wrongly to determine that an otherwise qualified credentialed teacher (me) cannot ''tutor'' kids one-on-one, basically, though it is okay to teach to an entire class all day. The state set out a new and different qualification scheme for ''tutors'' - but tutoring and teaching are the same activity! Anyway, if I just ask for injunctive and declaratory relief in federal court now, in a first action, may I later file a second lawsuit for monetary relief? What about the statute of limitations? (This is a continuing type wrongdoing.)


Asked on 5/03/09, 1:46 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Beauvais David J. Beauvais

Re: Declaratory relief in Title 42 Sec. 1983 claim?

You would be wise to join your damage claim with your claim for equitable relief. If you don't, you may be barred from seeking damages in a subsequent lawsuit. If you don't want to deal with the qualified immunity issue (an affirmative defense that must be asserted by the defendants), you could seek only injunctive relief at the outset and amend later to add a claim for damages.

The statute of limitations is two years and may begin to accrue when the injury first occurred. It is best to assume that this is the case rather than rely on a continuing tort theory. That would be the most conservative approach. I'm not saying it couldn't possibly work (especially if more than two years have elapsed and you have a new job offer that you can't take because of the defendants' actions. Possibly, you could argue that this constitutes a newly accrued cause of action. But this can get complicated. It is wise to file at the earliest opportunity to keep things as simple as possible.

Read more
Answered on 5/03/09, 2:40 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Civil Rights Law questions and answers in California