Ions v. Harbison’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““But conceding, for the sake of the argument, that the court had no jurisdiction, and that the sale was void, it would seem to be beyond question that Bell would have been estopped to claim title to the land as against the defendant, and, if so, the plaintiff claiming under Bell, with knowledge of the facts, is equally estopped. Bell asserted in a solemn judicial proceeding that the title to the property was in the estate of his deceased wife, and not in himself. He received the purchase money and applied it to the payment of the mortgage debt, which was a valid lien upon the land, for which he, as well as the estate, was liable, and to the payment of the funeral expenses and costs of administration which he had incurred, and, having conveyed the property to the defendant, put him in possession. There was no surplus arising from the sale. He was the sole beneficiary, and, upon respondent’s theory, the sole owner. To retain these benefits resulting from the payment of the purchase money by the defendant, and, at the same time, recover the property from him, would be a fraud which a court of equity will not permit. He had full knowledge of all the facts affecting his title. His mistake was one of law, as was that also of the defendant; but to permit Bell to retain the purchase money and the property, too, is to give him a very profitable relief from his mistake, while it would visit upon the defendant a severe penalty for the same mistake.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Selinger v. Milly