15 U.S.C. § 5
Section 5 · Bringing in additional parties
This is § 5 of the Sherman Antitrust Act
Amended 1 time on record
The circuits are split over this section — Whether the separate accrual rule borrowed from federal antitrust law applies to civil RICO claims, so that a new limitations period begins for each new and independent injury caused by the racketeering activity
Applied in 53 court decisions — leading case United States v. Armour & Co. (1971)
Most recently applied in Marco Fernandez v. RentGrow, Inc. (September 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Whenever it shall appear to the court before which any proceeding under section 4 of this title may be pending, that the ends of justice require that other parties should be brought before the court, the court may cause them to be summoned, whether they reside in the district in which the court is held or not; and subpoenas to that end may be served in any district by the marshal thereof.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Adding or dropping parties, see rule 21, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Continuance of section under rule 4, see Notes of Advisory Committee on Rules set out under rule 4.
Process, see rule 4.
Cross References
Bringing in additional parties, see, also, sections 10 and 25 of this title.