Two-Year Statute of Limitations…?
excerpts from “Double Set Back for Justice Seekers”, Herb Boyd, The Black World Today, 3/14/04 (www.tbwt.org)
In Tulsa, U.S. Senior District Judge James Ellison ruled that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city and the state that destroyed Tulsa’s black neighborhood 83 years ago cannot seek reparations in court because of the long-expired statute of limitations.
“That plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the statute of limitations is strictly a legal conclusion and does not speak to the tragedy of the riot or the terrible devastation it caused,” the judge ruled, in effect, agreeing with the city’s attorney to dismiss the suit because of a two-year limitation in civil cases.
On the other hand, the plaintiffs alleged the statute of limitations did not apply because they did not have the information to bring their suit until a public commission published a report on the riot in 2001. They also said the fact that courts were openly hostile to blacks kept survivors from seeking restitution at the time.
Harvard Law professor and attorney Charles Ogletree Jr., who has been representing the plaintiffs, said he would appeal the case. “Even though many are elderly and some are seriously ill, they informed me this afternoon there is a lot of fight left in them,” the attorney told reporters.
The lawsuit stems from race riot that occurred in Tulsa’s Greenwood district or “Black Wall Street.” During the ensuing melee the entire section of town was ravaged by fire and there are estimates that from 37 to 300 people perished in the incident.
“I’m 101 years of age, and I’ll just leave it to them,” said Otis Clark, placing his faith in his attorneys. Clark was 18 when he saw a white mob burn his grandparents’ and parents’ homes.