Sheehan v. McKinstry’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

45 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 47 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Under those principles as recognized and adopted by the decisions of the courts of this and other states where a contract for the sale of realty is executory on both sides and the vendee has failed to make the payments required under the contract, the vendor, in case such relief is not inequitable, is entitled to a decree fixing a reasonable time in which the vendee will be required to pay the purchase price, and upon his failure to pay such price within the time limited, the vendee, without judicial sale, will be barred and foreclosed of his equitable estate in said property, whereupon the contract will be canceled and the vendee's rights thereunder will be terminated. If, however, the vendee has paid a considerable portion of the purchase price, or if the property has largely enhanced in value, or if, for any other reason, it would be inequitable to grant a strict foreclosure, it is within the inherent powers of a court of chancery, independent of statute, to decree that the property be sold by judicial sale, and that the proceeds of such sale, after the purchase price and the expenses of such sale have been paid, be paid over to the vendee or to those entitled thereto.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Walker v. Nunnenkamp