commenced
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 380 U.S. 424 - Burnett v. New York Central Railroad · 1965Most cited · 2,154 citing opinions
FELA action · construing 45 U.S.C. § 51 · Federal Employers' Liability Act
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.
How often courts cite the cases defining “commenced”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “commenced” — 2,326 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1945–1965
- ORIGINAL
An action is 'commenced' for these purposes as a matter of federal law 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.