2006-01-25_Dan_Cole_v._County_of_Hawaii_-_Order_Granting_Defendants_Motions_to_Dismiss

Home

Case 1:05-cv-00325-JMS-131VIK Document 35 Filed 01/25/2006 Page 11 of 24 Hawaii's statute of limitations for personal injury actions, HRS § 657-7, is two years. In 1990, Congress enacted a "catchall" four-year statute of limitations that applies to federal statutes enacted after December 1, 1990. 28 U.S.C. § 1658. Because Congress amended § 1981 in 1991, an issue arises as to whether Cole's claim under § 1981, as amended by the 1991 Civil Rights Act, is governed by the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims or the four-year statute of limitations established by § 1658. In Jones v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369, 382 (2004), the Supreme Court held that "a cause of action `aris[es] under an Act of Congress enacted' after December 1, 1990 -- and therefore is governed by § 1658's 4-year statute of limitations -- if the plaintiff's claim against the defendant was made possible by a post-1990 enactment." Cole's § 1981 claim, however, was not "made possible" by the 1991 amendments to § 1981, and is therefore subject to a two-year statute of limitations. Cole alleges that, in 2001, County officials treated him differently than other similarly situated citizens because of his race. Even if the court were to accept these allegations as true, this type of claim was available prior to the 1991 amendments to § 1981 and therefore is subject to a two-year statute of limitations. Cf. Cholla Ready Mix, Inc. v. Civish, 382 F.3d 969, 974 n.5 (9th Cir. 2004) 11