Lilly v. Tobbein’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 59 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 63 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “It is doubtless true, as many of the authorities cited hold, that an amendment bringing in a new party defendant will not relate back so as to prevent the bar of the statute as to the new party defendant; but there is a vast difference between substituting a competent for an incompetent plaintiff, and bringing in a new defendant. Substituting the party having the legal right to sue for the claim for which the action was brought instead of another party improperly named as plaintiff is not the commencement of a new action, and in such a case the amendment relates back to the commencement of the action. [United States] Insurance Co. v. Ludwig, 108 Ill. 514. Now, in the present case there has been no change in the cause of action itself. The subject-matter of the suit and the issues to be tried were the same after as before the amendment. So far as the defendants are concerned, this suit was commenced when process was served upon them. The suit has been, from first to last, prosecuted in the interest of the church, and we entertain no doubt but the amendment substituting the individual plaintiffs for the unincorporated association related back to the commencement of the suit, and the statute of limitation was arrested at that time.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Company, a Corporation v. Norris Grain Company, a Tennessee Corporation, and Norris Grain Company, an Illinois Corporation