Opinion ID: 2980676
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Equitable tolling standard

Text: Equitable tolling “allows courts to toll a statute of limitations when a litigant’s failure to meet a legally-mandated deadline unavoidably arose from circumstances beyond that litigant’s control.” Robertson v. Simpson, 624 F.3d 781, 783 (6th Cir. 2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). Courts grant equitable tolling “sparingly.” Id. at 784. The petitioner bears the burden of showing that she is entitled to equitable tolling. McClendon v. Sherman, 329 F.3d 490, 494 (6th Cir. 2003). This court formerly used a five-factor test when considering whether a petitioner was entitled to equitable tolling. See Dunlap, 250 F.3d at 1008. The district court relied on this standard when analyzing whether Plummer was entitled to equitable tolling of the AEDPA limitation period. Due to developments that occurred after the district court entered its order, the Dunlap standard is no longer good law. In Holland, the Supreme Court outlined a new two-prong standard for determining when a habeas petitioner is entitled to equitable tolling. Under Holland, a petitioner must establish first “that he has been pursuing his rights diligently” and second “that some extraordinary circumstance stood in his way and prevented timely filing.” 130 S.Ct. at 2562 (internal quotation marks omitted). This court has explained that “[w]ith Holland now on the books, the ‘extraordinary -5- No. 10-2253 Plummer v. Warren circumstances’ test . . . has become the law of this circuit.” Hall v. Warden, Lebanon Correctional Institution, 662 F.3d 745, 750 (6th Cir. 2011).