Facts

Robert Ross sued Shaquille O'Neal claiming the basketball giant ordered him kidnapped.

Ross alleged that he was O'Neal's former business associate. He asserted causes of action for assault and battery and false imprisonment. Plaintiff argued that the statute of limitations was tolled by California Civil Code section 351 during the period that defendant O'Neal was outside California.

Result

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen dismissed the case on the pleadings with prejudice as time barred, holding that California Civil Procedure section 351, which tolls the limitations period during the time a defendant is absent from California, unconstitutional as applied to O'Neal because of his involvement in interstate commerce as an NBA basketball player.

Other Information

An appeal by the plaintiff is pending in the Ninth Circuit.