Also known as: toll · tolled · tolls · tolling statute · tolling agreement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A mechanism that suspends or extends the running of a statute of limitations during the occurrence of specified conditions or events. The mechanism prevents the period from expiring while the condition persists and resumes the period once the condition ends.
Edith filed her negligence suit in federal court after discovering a concealed surgical error. The state statute extended the filing window for concealment cases. The federal court applied the state tolling rule because disregarding it would produce a different result than a state court would reach.
Prosecutors entered a nolle prosequi with leave that indefinitely tolled the limitations period. The defendant moved to dismiss claiming a speedy trial violation. The court granted dismissal because the indefinite tolling prevented any fixed end to the prosecution.
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Tracy Torres filed a mass action in state court that was removed to federal court. The limitations period on her claims stopped running upon removal. After remand she refiled within the remaining time because the federal statute had tolled the period during pendency.
Thaddeus Tran asserted a state claim under supplemental jurisdiction that was later dismissed. The limitations period on that claim was tolled while the claim was pending and for thirty days after dismissal. He refiled in state court within the extended window and avoided the bar.
Tundra Resources concealed a bulk sale from its creditors. The one-year limitations period for an action under the bulk sales article was tolled until discovery. A creditor who learned of the sale within the outer two-year cap filed suit and the action proceeded.
Talia Torres and her spouse signed a premarital agreement. After separation Talia asserted a claim under the agreement. The applicable statute of limitations had been tolled throughout the marriage. She filed within the resumed period and the claim was timely.
A federal court must apply the state tolling rule when the rule is substantive under the Erie analysis. Statutes of limitations and their tolling provisions determine whether a claim survives and therefore affect the outcome of the litigation. Ignoring the state rule would produce a result different from the one a state court would reach.
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No. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 3 governs only the commencement of the action and does not address tolling. In diversity cases the federal court must apply the relevant state tolling law when no federal rule directly governs the question.
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The period is tolled while the claim is pending in federal court and for thirty days after dismissal unless state law provides a longer period. The plaintiff may refile in state court within that window without facing a limitations bar.
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The limitations periods on claims asserted in a mass action removed to federal court are deemed tolled during the period the action is pending in federal court. The plaintiff retains the benefit of the remaining time after remand or other disposition.
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…the Public Use Clause. States employed the eminent domain power to provide quintessentially public goods, such as public roads, toll roads, ferries, canals, railroads, and public parks. Lewis §§ 166, 168-171, 175, at 227-228, 234-241, 243. Though use of the eminent domain power was sparse at the time of the founding,…