Betty Harmon v. County of Fresno

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
BETTY HARMON,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
COUNTY OF FRESNO; CHIEF
DEPUTY BOB HENSEL; DET. RYAN
GILBERT, CITY OF FRESNO; DAVID
NEWTON; DOUG GOERTZEN; DAVID
BELLUOMINI; and HENRY M.
MONREAL,
Defendants - Appellees.
No. 08-17427
D.C. No. 1:08-cv-01311-LJO-GSA
MEMORANDUM *
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Lawrence J. O’Neill, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted December 9, 2009*
San Francisco, California
Before: O’SCANNLAIN, RAWLINSON, and BEA, Circuit Judges.
FILED
DEC 16 2009
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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2
Betty Harmon appeals the district court’s order dismissing, with prejudice,
her complaint alleging federal constitutional and state tort claims based on the City
of Fresno and County of Fresno’s refusal to investigate her mother’s death.
Harmon’s federal and state claims are barred by California’s two-year statute
of limitations for personal injury. See Cal. Code Civ. Pro. § 335.1; TwoRivers v.
Lewis, 174 F.3d 987, 991 (9th Cir. 1999). Her claims accrued when she had reason
to know of her injury, which was no later than when she filed her first tort claims
against the City of Fresno and County of Fresno in 2005 and those claims were
denied. The defendants’ 2007 refusal to investigate was simply a repetition of their
decision and was not a new violation. See RK Ventures, Inc. v. City of Seattle, 307
F.3d 1045, 1061 (9th Cir. 2002). Her claims should not be equitably tolled; she did
not pursue an alternate remedy after filing her state tort claims in 2005, she merely
continued to collect evidence to buttress her original claim. See Daviton v.
Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., 241 F.3d 1131, 1136–37 (9th Cir. 2001) (en
banc).
Because Harmon’s claims are time-barred, we do not reach the merits of her
claims.
AFFIRMED.

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