Stull v. Hoke

The primary issue in this case is when a civil action is deemed commenced, for purposes of the statute of limitations, when the plaintiff who files the complaint is an indigent person who is incarcerated in a prison facility. For the reasons explained below, we hold that, in these circumstances, the action commences when the complaint is received by the court.

Plaintiff, an inmate at the Columbia River Correctional Institution, delivered a complaint to the prison law librarian on April 11,1994, with the intent that it be mailed to the Multnomah County Circuit Court for filing. The handwritten…