Burnes v. Scott’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

51 federal appellate · 11 district · 47 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 152 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““But it was strenuously argued by the counsel for the defendant that the bargain between the plaintiff and Mr. Wright, under which this suit was instituted, amounted to champerty and maintenance, and consequently disqualified the plaintiff to sue, and that I was therefore bound to dismiss the bill, or to make the plaintiff pay the costs of the suit, or that I ought not, at all events, to give him any costs. I have carefully examined all the authorities which were referred to in support of this argument, and) they clearly establish that whenever the right of the plaintiff, in respect of which he sues, is derived under a title founded on champerty or maintenance, his suit will on that account necessarily fail. But no authority was cited, nor have I met with any, which goes the length of deciding that, where a plaintiff has an original and good title to property, he becomes disqualified to sue by having entered into an improper bargain with his solicitor as to the mode of remunerating him for his professional services in the suit or otherwise. It is clear that the bargain between the plaintiff and Mr. Wright amounted to maintenance; and if the latter had been the plaintiff, suing by virtue of a title derived under that contract, it would have been my duty to dismiss the bill.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Keiper v. Miller · The Clara A. McIntyre

2. “Its purpose wa's to vary and contradict by an alleged contemporaneous verbal agreement the contract which the parties had reduced to writing. It was offered to show that a promissory note in the usual form was not intended by the parties to be a promissory note, but was a mere memorandum by which the maker promised nothing; which gave no rights to the payee, and was to all intents and purposes vain, futile, and of no force or effect whatever. It is not necessary to cite authority to show that the evidence was inadmissible for such a purpose.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Burke v. Dulaney

3. ““The question raised by the present assignment of error is not whether a champertous contract between counsel and client is void, but whether the making of such a contract can be set up in bar of a recovery on the cause of action to which the champertous contract relates. “We must answer this question in the negative.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Haines v. Phillips Petroleum Co.