Vinnie v. Henry
Vinnie v. Henry
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, Raymond P. Vinnie, appeals from the allowance of the defendants' motions to dismiss his complaint. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of dismissal.
Background. 1. 2004 action. This case arises out of the plaintiff's inability to obtain a default judgment in a prior lawsuit he filed on May 3, 2004, in Suffolk County Superior Court (2004 action). At the time, the plaintiff was an inmate at Souza-Baronowski Correctional Center. In the 2004 action, the plaintiff alleged medical malpractice and violations of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution against three medical contractors for the Department of Correction (the medical defendants) and a Department of Correction employee.
The plaintiff served the defendants in the 2004 action by certified mail, mailed on June 2, 2004; the returns of service were docketed on June 25, 2004. There is no record evidence supporting any other date of service, as the plaintiff has never filed or produced the signed service of process receipts.
On July 2, 2004, without first moving for entry of default, the plaintiff requested a default judgment against all defendants in the 2004 action. On July 12, 2004, the defendants in the 2004 action filed their answers. On July 16, 2004, the Suffolk County Superior Court clerk's office sent the plaintiff notice of its refusal to enter the default judgment, indicating that the plaintiff had filed neither the signed return receipts from his service of process nor a request for entry of default. See Mass.R.Civ.P. 55(b)(1), as amended,
2. 2015 complaint. Two years later, on June 15, 2015, the plaintiff filed the complaint at issue here. He alleged that the attorney defendants, who had represented the defendants in the 2004 action, and Donovan conspired to fraudulently deny him the entry of a default judgment in the 2004 action.
Discussion. "We review the allowance of a motion to dismiss de novo." Curtis v. Herb Chambers I-95, Inc.,
1. Section 1983 claims. In his 2015 complaint, the plaintiff asserted claims under
Here, the facts supporting the plaintiff's claim that the attorney defendants and court clerk colluded to block the plaintiff's motion for a default judgment would have been known to him by mid-August, 2004, when the defendants filed the opposition to his motion for default judgment. By then, the plaintiff knew the clerk had recorded a June 25, 2004, return of summons date and had rejected the plaintiff's motion for a default judgment in part because the plaintiff had not filed signed return of service receipts. In their opposition filing, the defendants had averred that they were served with the complaint on June 25. Accordingly, all the facts that form the basis of the plaintiff's 2015 complaint were known to him in August, 2004, thus starting the clock on the three-year limitations period. We conclude, therefore, as did the judge below, that the plaintiff's § 1983 claims are time-barred.
2. Tort claims. The three-year statute of limitations set forth in G. L. c. 260, § 2A, also applies to the plaintiff's tort claims. Massachusetts law mirrors Federal law in determining the date on which a cause of action in tort accrues. See Bowen v. Eli Lilly & Co.,
3. Massachusetts Civil Rights Act claims. The same is true for the plaintiff's claims under G. L. c. 12, §§ 11H and 11I. The three-year limitations period begins "on the date of the allegedly wrongful acts, unless the wrong is 'inherently unknowable.' " Pagliuca v. Boston,
4. Chapter 93A claim. General Laws c. 260, § 5, provides a one-year statute of limitations for the G. L. c. 93A claim asserted here. See Passatempo v. McMenimen,
5. Rule 60(b). Finally, to the extent the plaintiff requests relief from the final judgment in the 2004 action due to fraud under Mass.R.Civ.P. 60(b),
Judgment affirmed.
The version of rule 55(b)(1) in effect in 2004 contained this identical language.
Specifically, the plaintiff claims the attorney defendants and Donovan violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; art. XV of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights; G. L. c. 12, §§ 11H -11I ; G. L. c. 258, § 2 ; G. L. c. 93A, § 2 ; and
Although we do not base our decision on collateral estoppel grounds, we do note in passing that in Vinnie v. Enaw,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.