Short answer. One year. An action against a public officer or employee for ouster from office must be commenced within one year after the cause of ouster, or the petitioner's right to hold the office, arose. A separate one-year limit governs the follow-on claim for damages, counted from entry of judgment.
What the law says
unless the same be commenced within one year after the cause of such ouster, or the right of the petitioner to hold such office or position, arose
Rule 66, Section 11 — Limitations. Read the full provision →
What the law says
unless the same be commenced within one year after the entry of the judgment establishing the petitioner's right to the office in question
Rule 66, Section 11 — Limitations. Read the full provision →
The one-year bar
Rule 66, Section 11 is blunt about time. Nothing in the Rule authorises an action against a public officer or employee for ouster from office unless the same be commenced within one year after the cause of such ouster, or the right of the petitioner to hold such office or position, arose. One year, counted this way, is the outer limit for a petition claiming that someone is unlawfully holding a public office you are entitled to. The action must be commenced — actually filed in court — within that year, not merely contemplated, demanded, or threatened in correspondence.
When the year begins
The section gives two alternative starting points: when the cause of such ouster arose, and when the right of the petitioner to hold such office or position arose. For a claimant excluded from office, the clock typically starts when the exclusion happened — when another person was appointed to or assumed the post, or when the claimant was removed. On the section's own terms the period runs from the event itself, not from the end of any demands, protests, or administrative follow-ups. That makes the first date in the story decisive, and it is often earlier than the claimant assumes.
A second one-year clock for damages
The same section adds a distinct limit for money claims: no action for damages is authorised unless the same be commenced within one year after the entry of the judgment establishing the petitioner's right to the office in question. A successful quo warranto petitioner who wants damages must therefore sue for them within one year of entry of the judgment declaring their right. The two periods are independent — winning the office on time does not preserve the damages claim indefinitely, and the damages year runs from entry of judgment, not from the ouster.
Fix the dates before anything else
Because the one-year bar is measured from events, the case begins with a chronology: the appointment or election said to give you the right, the date the rival took or kept the office, the date you were removed or excluded, and every written objection you made. Documents carry these dates — appointment papers, oaths of office, office orders, payroll records. A lawyer assessing a quo warranto claim will ask for them first, because if the earliest relevant date is more than a year old, the discussion shifts from the merits to whether the case can be brought at all.