Herb v. Pitcairn’s Empirical Analysis
325 U.S. 77 · 1945
Citation profile
52 federal appellate · 3 district · 39 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 181 later decisions (27 by the Supreme Court) — most recently June 2025 · most notably Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs (1991), American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah (1974)
52 federal appellate · 3 district · 39 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 45 U.S.C. § 56 (Federal Employers' Liability Act)
Relies on Herb v. Pitcairn Belcher v. Louisville & N.R. Co · Oil Workers International Union, Local 463 v. Texoma Natural Gas Co. · Herb v. Pitcairn
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 181 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[a]n action is ‘commenced’ [within the meaning of the relevant federal' statute] when instituted by service of process issued out of a state court, even if one which itself is unable to proceed to judgment, if the state law or practice directs or permits the transfer through change of venue or otherwise to a court which does have jurisdiction to hear, try, and otherwise determine that cause.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“Clearly, however, when process has been adequate to bring in the parties and to start the case on a course of judicial handling which may lead to final judgment without issuance of new initial process, it is enough to commence the action within the federal statute.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.