In Lucas v. Woody, No. 131064, a sharply divided Virginia Supreme Court decided in a special case of “first impression” on April 17, 2014, that the 1-year statute of limitation of Va. Code §8.01-243.2, not the 2-year statute of limitation of Va. Code §8.01-243(A), applied to any personal injury claim that accrued during confinement in a state or local correctional facility, even though the individual has been released from the facility at the time of suit. Id. at 1-12. Three Justices issued an 11-page dissent. Id. at 12-23.
Significantly, Defendants in Lucas “conceded that a two-year statute of limitations applied to Lucas’ [Federal 42 U.S.C. §1983] claim.” Id. at 3. However, Lucas had filed only a State claim within 2 years. Id. at 1-2.
