Moelle v. Sherwood’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

23 federal appellate · 2 district · 59 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 90 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The doctrine expressed ill many eases that the grantee in a quitclaim deed cannot be treated as a bona flcle purchaser does not seem to rest upon any sound principle.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hopkins v. Hebard · Jack Development, Inc. v. Howard Eales, Inc.

2. “The change in the description of the property, made after the delivery of the deed to the grantee, and its record in the register's office of the county, did not give operation and force to the deed, with the changed description, as a conveyance of the premises in controversy. An alteration in the description of property embraced in a deed, so as to make the instrument cover property different from that originally embraced, whether or not it destroys the validity of the instrument as a conveyance of the property originally described, certainly does not give it validity as a conveyance of the property of which the new description is inserted. The old execution and acknowledgment are not continued in existence as to the new property. To give effect to the deed as one of the newly-described property, it should have been re-executed, reacknowledged, and redelivered. In other words, a new conveyance should have been made.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Smith v. Bratsos

3. ““The character of a bona fide purchaser must depend upon attending cir-cuinslances or proof us to the transaction, and does not arise, as often, though, we think, inadvertently, said, either from the form of the conveyance or the presence or the absence of any accompanying warranty. Whether the grantee is to be treated as taking a mere speculative chance in property, or a clear title, must depend on the character of the title of the grantor when lie made the conveyance; and the opportunities afforded the grantee of ascertaining this fact and the diligence with which he has prosecuted them will, besides the payment of a reasonable consideration, determine ihe bona fide nature of the transaction on his part.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hopkins v. Hebard