Drexel v. Berney’s Empirical Analysis
122 U.S. 241 · 1887
Citation profile
20 federal appellate · 6 district · 22 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 90 later decisions (13 by the Supreme Court) — most recently July 2013 · most notably Davis v. Wakelee (1895), American Life Insurance v. Stewart (1937)
20 federal appellate · 6 district · 22 state decisions — followed in 10 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Dickerson v. Colgrove · James Boyce's Executors v. Felix Grundy · Grand Chute v. Winegar · Smith v. . Felton
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 90 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““This court has often been called upon to consider the sixteenth section of the judiciary act of 1789, and as often, either expressly or by the course of its decisions, has held that it is merely declaratory, making no alteration whatever in the rules of equity on the subject of legal remedy. It is not enough that there is a remedy at law. It must be plain and adequate, or, in other words, as practical and efficient to the ends of justice and its prompt administration as the remedy in equity.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“[e]quity will look through the form of the transaction, and adjust the equities of the parties with a view to its substance,....”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““If the decedent, Robert Berney, at the time of his death was domiciled in Rrance, and not in Alabama, the letters testamentary issued to his brother James Berney as executor in Alabama were void, and the authority given by James Berney to St. James by the power of attorney was also invalid, and the payment made by the complainants of the proceeds of the bonds which belonged to the estate does not bind the rightful executor or protect the complainants. T,he ground of the bill, therefore, is that, upon these facts, an action at law may be successfully maintained by the appellee as executrix of Robert Berney against the complainants for the value of the bonds.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Drexel v. Berney
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.