Epperson v. Helbron’s Empirical Analysis
1920
Citation profile
23 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 23 later decisions — most recently October 1960
23 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 Mansfield Gas Co. v. Alexander · Dill v. Fraze · Watson v. Penn · Mower v. Sanford · Sullivent v. Clear Creek Oil & Gas 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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““Under a lease of this kind the lessee, so long as he pays the rentals in the manner provided, has an option to continue the lease in force to the end of the term. The lessee may also terminate the lease at will by a mere failure to pay the stipulated rent at the time due. The lessor has no right to terminate the lease as long as the lessee complies with its terms, but he may declare a forfeiture if the lessee fails to pay the annual rental when due. . . . “Hence we think that time is of the essence of the contract. It was contemplated that the lessee should do the affirmative act of paying the annual rental in advance in order to prevent the lease from being declared forfeited by the lessor. ’ ’”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Vaughan v. Doss““It is true that, in general, equity abhors a forfeiture, but not when it works equity and protects a landowner from the laches of a lessee under a lease for exploring for oil and gas. The reason is that a small tract of land could be nearly or entirely drained by wells on adjoining lands, and it is common that leases contain covenants for diligent operation and for forfeiture in case of suspension. ’ ’”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Vaughan v. Doss
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.