Bennett v. Howard’s Empirical Analysis
1943
Citation profile
28 federal appellate · 112 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 144 later decisions — most recently October 2004 · most notably Arnold v. National County Mutual Fire Insurance Co. (1987), Burk Royalty Co. v. Walls (1981)
28 federal appellate · 112 state decisions
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 Missouri Pacific Railway Co. v. Shuford
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 144 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Gross negligence, to be the ground for exemplary damages, should be that entire want of care which would raise the belief that the act or omission complained of was the result of a conscious indifference to the right or welfare of the person or persons to be affected by it.”
9 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“In order that a recovery of exemplary damages may be sustained, the plaintiff must show, not merely that the defendant could have or ought to have foreseen and prevented the loss or injury of which the plaintiff complains, but that he acted intentionally or willfully, or with a degree of 'gross negligence' which approximates a fixed purpose to bring about the injury of which the plaintiff complains.”
7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““ ‘Gross negligence, to be the ground for exemplary damages, should be that entire want of care which would raise the belief that the act or omission complained of was the result of a conscious indifference to the right or welfare of the person or persons to be affected by it. (Southern) Cotton Press v. Bradley, 52 Tex. (587) 600.’ (We italicized ‘conscious indifference.’) * * * “ ‘It is to be observed that the definition quoted uses the words “conscious indifference,” thus stressing the mental attitude of the person charged to have been grossly negligent. Gross negligence is positive or affirmative, rather than merely passive or negative as ordinary negligence often, and perhaps usually, is. As said in the discussion in Ruling Case Law of the right to recover exemplary damages for gross negligence: “The rule is that recovery is permitted, in, and confined to, cases where the negligence is wilful, or where it is so. gross as to indicate wantonness or malice.” 8 R.C.L., p. 590. Mere indifference is not enough. The difference must be conscious. The indifference is to the rights or welfare of the person or persons who may be affected by the act or omission. Thus the doctrine of foreseeableness becomes important.’ ””
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.