O’Gorman v. City of Chicago

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-former employer’s motion to dismiss plaintiff-former employee’s section 1983 action alleging that defendant violated plaintiff’s due process and equal protection rights when defendant forced him to quit his job after being accused of stealing City funds and then failing to rehire him after he was acquitted of all criminal charges and after plaintiff was placed on “do not hire” list. Plaintiff’s due process claims based on his forced resignation, as well as alleged stigma on his reputation were time-barred, where: (1) instant lawsuit was filed more than 2 years after his termination and after theft charges were posted on defendant’s website; and (2) plaintiff could not rely on any discovery rule to extend limitations period. Moreover, plaintiff failed to allege viable due process claim arising out of defendant’s failure to rehire him since plaintiff failed to allege existence of constitutionally protected property interest in his reinstatement.