In what circumstances will the statute of limitations in civil rights cases apply to causes of action for deprivations of civil rights?

In Rossiter v. Benoit (1979) 88 Cal.App.3d 706, 152 Cal.Rptr. 65, the court held the three year statute of limitations of Code of Civil Procedure 338, subdivision (a) applicable to causes of action for deprivations of civil rights under the federal statute. (42 U.S.C., 1983.) There the court explained: "This section applies only where the liability is embodied in a statutory provision and was of a type which did not exist at common law." (Id. at p. 717, 152 Cal.Rptr. 65; italics in original.)