Wells v. Edwards

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT June 21, 2006 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 05-41846 Conference Calendar MARSHALL WELLS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus JACKIE EDWARDS, Warden of Ramsey III; UNKNOWN REGIONAL DIRECTORS at DARRINGTON UNIT 59; PRIGE JACK, Grievance Coordinator of Ramsey III Unit; SUSAN RIVAS; CAROLYN C. FIELDS, Supervisor of the Mailroom at Ramsey III Unit; REGINA HIGGINS, Clerk of Ramsey III Mailroom; ANTON POWELL, Clerk of Ramsey III Mailroom; SHEKI MURPHY, Clerk of Ramsey III Mailroom, Defendants-Appellees. -------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 3:05-CV-558 -------------------- Before STEWART, DENNIS, and OWEN, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Marshall Wells, Texas prisoner # 314821, appeals from the district court’s dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint as time-barred pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1). Wells concedes that he previously filed the same complaint against the same defendants and that it was voluntarily dismissed pursuant to his * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. No. 05-41846 -2- “Notice of Dismissal” filed on August 19, 2003. Wells also concedes that his cause of action arose when he received the final response to his Step Two Grievance in 1999. See Jackson v. Johnson, 950 F.2d 263, 265 (5th Cir. 1992). The applicable statute of limitations is two years. See Hitt v. Connell, 301 F.3d 240, 246 (5th Cir. 2002). Wells’s voluntary dismissal of that complaint left him in the same position as if the lawsuit had never been filed. Lambert v. United States, 44 F.3d 296, 298 (5th Cir. 1995). Equitable tolling is not warranted in this case because Wells failed to act diligently to preserve his claims. See id. at 299 & 299 n.1. Wells’s complaint filed in September 2005 was therefore untimely. AFFIRMED.