Opinion ID: 776641
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Accrual of Appellant's Malicious Prosecution Cause of Action

Text: The FTCA mandates that 23 [a] tort claim against the United States shall be forever barred unless it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues or unless action is begun within six months after the date of mailing ... of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented. 24 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b) (1994). Although phrased in the disjunctive, this statute requires a claimant to file an administrative claim within two years [of accrual] and file suit within six months of its denial. Houston v. United States Postal Serv., 823 F.2d 896, 902 (5th Cir.1987) (emphasis in original). See also Willis v. United States, 719 F.2d 608, 612 (2d Cir.1983); Schuler v. United States, 628 F.2d 199, 201 (D.C.Cir.1980). 25 Here, the threshold issue is determining when Appellant's claim accrued. Appellant contends that his claim did not accrue at the time of his acquittal in January 1996 but only accrued in December 1998 when one of his acquitted co-defendants discovered the contents of the grand jury transcripts which had led to Appellant's and his co-defendants' original indictment. Appellee contends, however, that Appellant's claim accrued, and the limitations period began to run, when Appellant was acquitted. 26 Before a malicious prosecution claim can accrue, the underlying criminal proceeding must terminate in the plaintiff's favor. Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 489, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994). Based on the repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct enumerated by Judge Hoyt, Appellant and his co-defendants were acquitted of all charges on January 12, 1996. Thus, the proceeding was terminated in Appellant's favor. 27 A cause of action under federal law accrues within the meaning of § 2401(b) when the plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the injury which is the basis of the action. Brown v. Nationsbank Corp., 188 F.3d 579, 589-90 (5th Cir.1999) (internal quotes and citations omitted), cert. denied, 530 U.S. 1274, 120 S.Ct. 2740, 147 L.Ed.2d 1004 (2000). In FTCA cases, 28 [a] plaintiff ... armed with the facts about the harm done to him, can protect himself by seeking advice in the medical and legal community. To excuse him from promptly doing so by postponing the accrual of his claim would undermine the purpose of the limitations statute, which is to require the reasonably diligent presentation of tort claims against the Government. 29 United States v. Kubrick, 444 U.S. 111, 123, 100 S.Ct. 352, 62 L.Ed.2d 259 (1979). 30 Ascertaining Appellant's awareness of the existence of a possible cause of action has two elements: (1) [t]he existence of the injury; and (2) causation, that is, the connection between the injury and the defendant's actions. Piotrowski v. City of Houston, 51 F.3d 512, 516 (5th Cir.1995). As to causation, Appellant 31 need not have knowledge of fault in the legal sense for the statute to begin to run, but [Appellant] must have knowledge of facts that would lead a reasonable person (a) to conclude that there was a causal connection ... or (b) to seek professional advice, and then, with that advice, to conclude that there was a causal connection between [Appellee's acts] and [Appellant's] injury. 32 Id. (internal quotes and citations omitted). 33 Certainly, Judge Hoyt's unequivocal iteration of examples of prosecutorial misconduct leaves little doubt that, at the time of Appellant's acquittal, Appellant had ample evidence of essential facts which would support the possible existence of a claim for malicious prosecution. At the very least, Appellant was in a position to seek professional advice from a lawyer or other expert, and then, with that advice, to conclude that there was a causal connection between [Appellee's acts] and [Appellant's] injury. Id. See also Brown v. United States, 653 F.2d 196, 199 (5th Cir.1981) (holding that, in a malicious prosecution action under Texas law, malice may be inferred from the lack of probable cause or the conclusion that the government acted in reckless disregard of an individual's rights). Further, the requirement of diligent inquiry imposes an affirmative duty on the potential plaintiff to proceed with a reasonable investigation in response to an adverse event. Pacheco v. Rice, 966 F.2d 904, 907 (5th Cir.1992). 34 The difficulty here is that Appellant did not conduct an inquiry, diligent or otherwise, even though Appellant knew or had reason to know of the injury forming the basis of a possible malicious prosecution claim as of January 12, 1996. We are not free to construe § 2401(b) so as to defeat its obvious purpose of encouraging the prompt presentation of claims, Kubrick, 444 U.S. at 118, 100 S.Ct. 352, and we discern no sound reason for visiting the consequences of Appellant's investigative omission upon Appellee by delaying the accrual of Appellant's claim. Id. at 124, 100 S.Ct. 352. Therefore, because Appellant knew or should have known of his injury and the causal connection between his injury and Appellee's conduct as of the date of Appellant's acquittal, this Court finds that Judge Gilmore did not err in holding that Appellant's claim for malicious prosecution accrued on January 12, 1996.