Larsen v. Larsen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The term ‘necessary’ in section 137 must be given its broadest connotation. What is ‘necessary’ rests in the sound discretion of the trial court.” Howton v. Howton, 51 Cal.App.2d 323, 325 , 124 P.2d 837, 838 ; Westphal v. Westphal, 122 Cal. App. 379, 382, 383 , 10 P.2d 119 . “In the allowance of alimony and costs under section 137 of the Civil Code, the law recognizes the fact that a wife is entitled to live in her customary manner according to her station in life.” Falk v. Falk, 48 Cal.App.2d 780, 790 , 120 P.2d 724, 729 . The wife is not compelled to exhaust the corpus of her separate estate if her income is not sufficient to provide her with adequate means for counsel fees and living expenses. Westphal v. Westphal, 122 CaLApp. 388, 10 P.2d 122 ; Heck v. Heck, 63 Cal.App.2d 477, 480 , 147 P.2d 114 ; Falk v. Falk, 48 Cal.App.2d 780, 788-790 , 120 P.2d 724 . In the Westphal case the wife owned stock of a value of $15,000 from which she derived an income of $500 a year; in the Heck case a separate estate of $10,000 which produced a small income; in the Falk case her income from her separate estate was approximately $1600 in one year; in each of these cases the size of the separate means of the wife was held not to prevent an award under section 137, Civil Code. Larsen v. Larsen, 101 Cal.App.2d 862 , 226 P.2d 650, 653 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Zundel v. Zundel