Burnett et al. v. Grattan et al.

Decided June 27, 1984. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-264 · 468 U.S. 42 (1984) · Cited 447 times

Holding

While federal courts properly turn to state law for statutes of limitations in actions under the Civil Rights Acts, borrowing the limitations period from an administrative employment discrimination statute was inappropriate.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY v. Tomanio · 446 U.S. 478 (1980)
• Robertson v. Wegmann · 436 U.S. 584 (1978)
• Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc. · 421 U.S. 454 (1975)
• DelCostello v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters · 462 U.S. 151 (1983)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Griffin v. Breckenridge · 403 U.S. 88 (1971)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Moor v. County of Alameda · 411 U.S. 693 (1973)
• Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. · 392 U.S. 409 (1968)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• McNeese v. Board of Education for Community Unit School District 187 Cahokia · 373 U.S. 668 (1963)
• Occidental Life Insurance v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 432 U.S. 355 (1977)
• McDonald v. City of West Branch · 466 U.S. 284 (1984)
• Chardon v. Fumero Soto · 462 U.S. 650 (1983)
• Campbell v. Haverhill · 155 U.S. 610 (1895)
• O'Sullivan v. Felix · 233 U.S. 318 (1914)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Felder v. Casey · 487 U.S. 131 (1988)
• Wilson v. Garcia · 471 U.S. 261 (1985)
• Hardin v. Straub · 490 U.S. 536 (1989)
• Owens v. Okure · 488 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Webb v. County Board of Education · 471 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald · 546 U.S. 470 (2006)
• Reed v. United Transportation Union · 488 U.S. 319 (1989)
• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Thurgood Marshall’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).