Also known as: operatively · operative clause · operative part
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A legal communication or instrument that has taken effect and produces binding consequences.
Facts shared among claims that form the basis for a court's exercise of supplemental jurisdiction.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A legal communication or instrument that has taken effect and produces binding consequences.
Osprey Aviation mailed a signed acceptance form to Outback Mining as the offer required. The form left the offeror's possession before any revocation. The acceptance became operative upon mailing and formed the contract.
Onyx O'Reilly held an option contract to purchase land from Oasis Resorts. Onyx mailed acceptance on the final day. The acceptance was not operative until Oasis received it.
Facts shared among claims that form the basis for a court's exercise of supplemental jurisdiction.
Orion Orlov filed a diversity action for $90,000 against a defendant. Octavia Okonkwo joined as a plaintiff with a $40,000 claim arising from the same transaction. The court found the facts formed a common nucleus of operative fact. Supplemental jurisdiction attached to Okonkwo's claim.
Olive Okafor asserted a federal copyright claim and a related state unfair-competition claim from the same set of maps and submissions. The claims derived from a common nucleus of operative fact. The court exercised discretion to hear the state claim.
Omar Olson mailed acceptance to the wrong address listed in the offer. The acceptance was not operative upon dispatch because proper precautions were not taken.
Ophelia O'Brien challenged a mining regulation as a taking. The court examined the operative provisions of the statute rather than its stated purpose alone to determine its true effect on property rights.
An acceptance made in a manner invited by the offer becomes operative when put out of the offeree's possession. It completes mutual assent regardless of whether the acceptance later reaches the offeror.
Acceptance under an option contract is not operative until received by the offeror. The mailbox rule does not apply.
Claims must share a common nucleus of operative fact. At least one claim must satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement and complete diversity must exist.
…Simon v. Southern R. Co. , 236 U. S. 115; People’s Tobacco Co. v. American Tobacco Co., supra ; cf. Davis v. Farmers Co-operative Co. , 262 U. S. 312, 317, there have been instances in which the continuous corporate operations within a state were thought so substantial and of such a nature as to justify suit against…