Deck v. Deck’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““This court held, many years ago, that ‘motives of natural affection and gratitude on the part of the testator, and solicitations or arguments which appeal to such motives, do not constitute undue influence.’ In re Jackman’s Will, 26 Wis. 104 . In that case it was further held that: ‘Undue influence in such a case is such an influence that the instrument is not properly an expression of the will of the testator in regard to the disposition of his property, but rather an expression of the will of another person.’ To the same effect are Layman v. Conrey, 60 Md. 286 ; Matter of Mabie, 5 Misc. (N. Y.), 185; Stulz v. Schoeffle, 18 Eng. Law & Eq. 576. In this last case the testator, whose capacity was weakened to a certain extent by disease, was induced by the influence of his wife to alter his previous will, so as to be more favorable to her; but it was held that such influence was not undue, and further held that ‘importunity, to have legal effect, must be in such a degree as to take away free agency from the testator.’ In the case at bar the wife’s influence, if exerted at all, was in favor of certain of her children, and in a way, apparently, to meet the approbation of the testator. Their reasons for making the will as they did were best known to themselves.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Eiden v. Hovde