Court Opinion

ID: 9477415
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:23:12.142507+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:45:52.291627
License: Public Domain

PREGERSON, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
California courts have yet to articulate a clear standard for determining whether a party has acted in “good faith” for purposes of equitable tolling. The defendants contend that no finding of good faith can be made when a plaintiff begins litigation in one court, then voluntarily dismisses the action and refiles it in another court. Although none of the cases cited in the briefs present an identical posture, the California Supreme Court has applied equitable tolling in a case in which the plaintiff voluntarily abandoned an administrative proceeding to pursue her claim in court. See Jones v. Tracy School Dist., 27 Cal.3d 99, 108-09, 165 Cal.Rptr. 100, 104-05 (1980) (plaintiff complained to the United States Department of Labor, then — for reasons not revealed by the record — abandoned her federal claim and filed an action in state court under the California Labor Code). In light of the clear policy behind the equitable tolling doctrine — “avoiding forfeitures and allowing good faith litigants their day in court,” Addison v. California, 21 Cal.3d 313, 320-21, 146 Cal.Rptr. 224, 228, 578 P.2d 941, 944-45 (1978) — I find Jones indistinguishable.
In Addison, the California Supreme Court indicated that “courts have adhered to a general policy which favors relieving plaintiff from the bar of a limitations statute when, possessing several legal remedies he, reasonably and in good faith, pursues one designed to lessen the extent of his injuries or damage.” 21 Cal.3d at 317, 146 Cal.Rptr. at 226, 578 P.2d at 943 (cita*376tions omitted). It would be anomalous to recognize a plaintiff's right to choose among forums, yet hold that a plaintiff who abandons one forum to pursue his claim in another acts in bad faith. I cannot conclude that a California court would find bad faith under these circumstances.
Moreover, it would be consistent with federal policy to apply equitable tolling in this case. Congress enacted 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in response to a “grave ... concern that the state courts had been deficient in protecting federal rights.” Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 98-99, 101 S.Ct. 411, 417, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980). By opening the doors to the federal courts, Congress recognized the importance of allowing civil rights plaintiffs a choice of forums. In this case, Bacon feared that he could not vindicate his rights in the state court. Whether he was right or wrong in that assessment, federal policy mandates that he be given the opportunity to pursue his claim in the federal court. I would reverse on that basis.