Smith v. Ellis’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “‘ ‘ The question, therefore, is whether knowledge, by the holder of a note negotiable in form, that the note was given in consideration of an executory agreement by the payee, will deprive the holder of his character as a holder in due course. Putting the question differently: Does the holder, with knowledge of such an executory contract, take the note subject to the provisions of the contract? The authorities seem to be in accord in answering this question in the negative. Knowledge of the consideration of a bill or note is not notice of a subsequent failure of the consideration. Knowledge of the holder that the note was given in consideration of an executory contract by the payee does not deprive the holder of’his character as a holder in due course, because of the fact that the payee fails to perform the contract, provided the holder had no knowledge of the breach prior to his acquisition of the instrument. And where the breach of the collateral contract takes place after the holder has acquired the instrument, for a greater reason the holder is protected. There is a discussion of this question in 8 C. J. at pages 509' and 510, section 718, where the cases bearing on the question are collated by the author.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Commercial Credit Co. v. Summers