Shewmaker v. Capital Transit Co.’s Empirical Analysis
143 F.2d 142 · 1944
Citation profile
73 federal appellate · 20 district · 73 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 166 later decisions — most recently April 2007 · most notably Baltimore & O. R. Co. v. Postom (1949), Etheredge v. District of Columbia (1993)
73 federal appellate · 20 district · 73 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 Gunning v. Cooley · Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Duncan · Pennsylvania Co v. Chamberlain · Frank Munsey v. Wesley Webb T · Jackson v. Capital Transit Co.
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 166 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[t]he rule applicable in the District of Columbia on a motion for a directed verdict, in an action founded upon negligence, is that the evidence must be construed most favorably to the plaintiff; to this end he is entitled to the full effect of every legitimate inference therefrom; if upon the evidence, so considered, reasonable men might differ, the case should go to the jury; if, on the other hand, no reasonable man could reach a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, the motion should be granted; a mere scintilla of evidence is not sufficient; the question is not whether there is any evidence, but whether there is any upon which a jury can properly proceed to find a verdict for the party upon whom the onus of proof is imposed; the burden being upon the plaintiff to establish the negligence and injury alleged, if the evidence fails adequately to support either element the motion should be granted.”
7 later decisions quote this exact passage“[T]he appellate court is required to balance the weight of the evidence against the judge’s determination and in favor of the jury’s determination. The question is, not whether there is sufficient evidence in the record to support the findings and decision of the judge, but whether there is evidence upon which reasonable men might differ as to negligence and other elements of liability; whether a jury of reasonable men could properly reach a verdict in favor of the party upon whom the onus of proof is imposed.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
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.