Avery v. Stewart.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘If the instrument is lost, the party is required to give some evidence that such a paper once existed, though slight evidence is sufficient for this purpose, and that a bona fide and diligent search has been unsuccessfully made for it in the place where it was most likely to be found, if the nature of the case admits such proof. What degree of diligence in the search is necessary it is not easy to define, as each case depends much on its peculiar circumstances; and the question whether the loss of the instrument is sufficiently proved to admit secondary evidence of its contents is to be determined by the court and not by the jury. But it seems that, in general the party is expected to show that he has in good faith exhausted, in a reasonable degree, all the sources of information and means of discovery which the nature of the case would naturally suggest and which were accessible to him.’ ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Wiggins v. Stapleton Baptist Church

2. “Did the defendant, knowing that Humphrey and wife had contracted to sell the land to the plaintiff, and before contracting with Humphrey for the purchase of the land (428) and before receiving a deed therefor agree with the plaintiff to buy the land for him, as alleged in the complaint?”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Avery v. . Stewart