Alexandria Gregg v. Hawaii Dept. of Public Safety, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 16507

Gregg, incarcerated at Kauai Community Correctional Center in 2011, participated in a Warden-run program called Life Time Stand (LTS) that purported to provide therapy but involved public sexual shaming, forced disclosures about sexual history, displaying sexual photographs, and screening an extremely violent rape scene.
Gregg alleges the LTS sessions humiliated and traumatized her; she requested and received transfer out of LTS housing and was released from custody in May 2012.
Gregg filed a § 1983 complaint in January 2014 asserting Eighth Amendment claims for cruel and unusual punishment and deliberate indifference based on the LTS program.
The district court dismissed her claims as time-barred under the two-year statute of limitations, concluding accrual occurred when the sessions ended (November 2011) and denied leave to amend.
Gregg sought leave to amend, submitting declarations that she remained unaware her psychological injuries were caused by LTS until after release and until receiving a 2014 therapist diagnosis; the Ninth Circuit found these allegations could plausibly delay accrual under the federal discovery rule.
The Ninth Circuit vacated the dismissal and remanded for the district court to allow Gregg to amend, holding accrual timing is a factual question and that Simmons-type therapy contexts can justify later discovery of injury and cause.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
When did Gregg's § 1983 claims accrue for statute-of-limitations purposes?	Gregg lacked awareness of psychological injury and its cause until after release and until a 2014 professional diagnosis, so accrual was later and her suit is timely.	Accrual occurred when the allegedly injurious conduct (the LTS sessions/incarceration) ended in Nov 2011, making the Jan 2014 filing untimely under the two-year limit.	Vacated and remanded: accrual is governed by the federal discovery rule and may have occurred after Nov 2011; the district court erred denying leave to amend because Gregg plausibly alleged delayed discovery similar to Simmons.

Simmons v. United States, 805 F.2d 1363 (9th Cir. 1986) (therapy context can delay discovery of psychological injury and its cause)
Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007) (accrual occurs when plaintiff knows or has reason to know of injury and its cause)
TRW Inc. v. Andrews, 534 U.S. 19 (2001) (federal courts generally apply discovery accrual rule when statute is silent)
Bonneau v. Centennial Sch. Dist. No. 28J, 666 F.3d 577 (9th Cir. 2012) (accrual governed by discovery rule principles)
TwoRivers v. Lewis, 174 F.3d 987 (9th Cir. 1999) (plaintiff’s knowledge or reason to know governs accrual)
Bibeau v. Pacific Northwest Research Found., 188 F.3d 1105 (9th Cir. 1999) (plaintiff must be diligent in discovering critical facts)
Carvalho v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 629 F.3d 876 (9th Cir. 2010) (standards for denying leave to amend as futile)