Felder v. Casey

Felder (plaintiff) sued Milwaukee police officers and the city (defendants) in Wisconsin state court under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, alleging racially motivated police brutality. He met Wisconsin's ordinary statute of limitations, but the defendants moved to dismiss because he had not complied with Wisconsin's notice-of-claim statute, which imposes additional time-sensitive procedural steps before suing a municipality. The state court dismissed the suit, and Felder appealed, arguing Section 1983 preempted the state notice requirement.