Jason Jones v. Dorothy Holmes

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUL 12 2012 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT JASON M. JONES, No. 11-16556 Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 3:11-cv-00047-LRH- RAM v. DOROTHY NASH HOLMES, Prosecutor; MEMORANDUM * et al., Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Larry R. Hicks, District Judge, Presiding Submitted June 26, 2012 ** Before: SCHROEDER, HAWKINS, and GOULD, Circuit Judges. Nevada state prisoner Jason M. Jones appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging deliberate indifference to Jones’s safety and health. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). review de novo the district court’s dismissal for failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir. 2000). We vacate and remand. The district court prematurely dismissed Jones’s action as time-barred. It is not clear at this stage in proceedings whether the statute of limitations was tolled while Jones filed any administrative grievances. See Brown v. Valoff, 422 F.3d 926, 943 (9th Cir. 2005) (“the applicable statute of limitations must be tolled while a prisoner completes the mandatory exhaustion process”). Nor is it clear what date Jones filed this action. See Douglas v. Noelle, 567 F.3d 1103, 1104 (2009) (the mailbox rule of Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988), applies to a pro se prisoner’s § 1983 complaint). VACATED and REMANDED. 2 11-16556