Buzard v. Houston’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

126 federal appellate · 52 district · 60 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 388 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The effect of the provision of the judiciary act, as often stated by this court, is that ‘whenever a court of law is competent to take cognizance of a right, and has power to proqced to a judgment which affords a plain, adequate, and complete remedy, without the aid of a court of equity, the plaintiff must proceed at law, because the defendant has a constitutional right to a trial by jury.’ Hipp v. Babin, 19 How. 271 , 278 [ 15 L. Ed. 633 ]; Insurance Co. v. Bailey, 13 Wall. 616 , 621 [ 20 L. Ed. 501 ]; Grand Chute v. Winegar, 15 Wall. 373 , 375 [ 21 L. Ed. 174 ]; Lewis v. Cocks, 23 Wall. 466 , 470 [ 23 L. Ed. 70 ]; Root v. Railway Co., 105 U. S. 189 , 212 [ 26 L. Ed. 975 ]; Killian v. Ebbinghaus, 110 U. S. 568 , 573, 4 S. Ct. 232 [ 28 L. Ed. 246 ].””

   11 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Whitehead v. Shattuck · Mann v. Appel

2. ““In cases of fraud or mistake, as under any other head of chancery jurisdiction, a court of the United States will not sustain a bill in equity to obtain only a decree for the payment of money by way of damages, when the like amount can be recovered at law in an action sounding in tort or for money had and received. * * * “The present bill states a case for which an action of deceit could be maintained at law, and would afford full, adequate, and complete remedy. * * * If the plaintiffs should be ordered to be reinstated in all their rights under that agreement, and permitted now to tender performance thereof on their part, the only relief which they could have in this suit would be a decree for damages to be assessed by the same rules as in an action at law. * * * If the exchange of the contracts was procured by the fraud alleged, it would be no more binding upon the plaintiffs at law than in equity; and in an action of deceit the plaintiffs might treat the assignment of the contract with Mosty as void, and, upon delivering up that contract to the defendant, recover full damages for the nonperformance of the original agreement. * * * A judgment for pecuniary damages would adjust and determine all the rights of the parties, and is the only redress to which the plaintiffs, if they prove their allegations; are entitled.””

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg · Southern Pac. R. v. United States

3. ““In the judiciary act of 1789, by which the first congress established the judicial courts of the United States, and defined their jurisdiction, it is enacted that ‘suits in equity shall not be sustained in either of the courts of the United States in .any case where plain, adequate, and complete remedy may be had at law.’ * * * Five days later, on September 29, 1789, the same congress proposed to the legislatures of the several states the article 'afterwards ratified as the seventh amendment of the constitution, which declares that ‘in suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.’ * * * The effect of the provision of the judiciary act, as often stated by this court, is that ‘whenever a court of law Is competent to la,lie cognizance of a right, and has ijower to proceed to a judgment which affords a plain, adequate, and complete remedy, without the aid of a court of equity, the x>lainUff must x>rooeed at law, because the defendant has a constitutional right to a trial by jury.’ ””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Scott v. Neely · Grether v. Wright