Van Strum v. Lawn’s Empirical Analysis
940 F.2d 406 · 1991
Citation profile
39 federal appellate · 5 district · 1 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 83 later decisions — most recently August 2024 · most notably Industrial Constructors Corporation v. United States Bureau of Reclamation H T (1994), Papa v. United States (2002)
39 federal appellate · 5 district · 1 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 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act)) · 42 U.S.C. § 1988 · 42 U.S.C. § 4321 (§ 2 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969)
Relies on Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · Wilson v. Garcia · Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson · Owens v. Okure · Johnson v. Mississippi
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 83 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Actions under [42 U.S.C.] Sec. 1983 and those under Bivens are identical save for the replacement of a state actor under Sec. 1983 by a federal actor under Bivens.”
7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““All three of [Wilson’s] concerns apply with equal force to Bivens actions. Actions under § 1983 and those under Bivens are identical save for the replacement of a state actor under § 1983 by a federal actor under Bivens. Like § 1983, the purposes of Bivens are best served through a uniform, easily applicable limitations period that is unlikely to discriminate against interests protected by the Constitution. Moreover, the rationale for applying the statute of limitations for personal injury applies with even greater force to Bivens actions, which come solely from the provisions of the Constitution protecting personal rights. We are further prompted to apply Wilson to claims invoking the Constitution directly by a practical concern. In some suits, as in the one at hand, a plaintiff may choose to sue certain defendants interchangeably under § 1983 or directly under the Constitution. As the Seventh Circuit stated in determining to apply Wilson to direct suits under the Constitution: ‘There is no reason to have a different period of limitations, and a strong reason not to: any difference would give the plaintiff an incentive to pick whichever jurisdiction provided the longer period, recreating the uncertainty that the Supreme Court sought to eliminate. We conclude, therefore, that there should be a single period of limitations for all suits in which the Constitution supplies the remedy.’ We agree, and follow the position adopted by the Seventh Circuit, as well as the Second and S”
1 later decision 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.