The Alligator’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 federal appellate · 13 district ·

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

1. ““There are maritime services which are usually rendered under circumstances which make them so [email protected] to the movement of a vessel, and to the performance of her primary function, as an instrument of commerce, that the admiralty law presumes they are rendered on the credit of the vessel, in the absence of proof to the contrary, and creates a maritime lien in their favor, independently of the cuestión whether it be a domestic vessel or not. Notable examples are the lien ¡'or pilotage services. The lien for seamen’s wages, for towage services, and for salvage services. The reasons for the rule in these cases are obvious, and arise out of the necessities of the situation. * * * The peculiar exigency of the situation in all these cases, supplies the reason for the rule of presumption of lien, as it has been long recognized in the administration of the general admiralty law. The exigency for such services, as are above enumerated, so generally exists that the rule of presumption of lien is sometimes dissociated from the reason upon which it is founded. The service of a diver can be imagined as rendered under circumstances so exigent as to come within the reason of the rule of presumption of lien, as the service may have been necessary to prevent the immediate sinking of a vessel, but the service of the same diver in examining a sunken wreck, or the bottom of a ship lying in port, to discover whether its general condition required that the ship should be docked, would come with”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. The J. Doherty · Rupert City

2. ““The allegations of the libel are very meager, and are only such as go to support the assertion of a maritime lien. There is not in them a single statement that would bring the cases within the terms of the state statute. Neither the residence of the libelant, nor the place where the service was performed, is directly or indirectly alleged to be in the state of New Jersey. It may be added that no proof was offered by the libelant as to these matters, though it would have been immaterial if he had done so. Though courts will take judicial notice of state statutes, it is hardly necessary to say that they will not undertake to make rights under such statutes justiciable before them in the absence of the allegata and probata necessary to an issue and controversy in that behalf.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hitchings v. Olsen

3. ““The charges against the separate dredges were arbitrarily made upon statements of service, not to the dredges singly and separately, but to them as grouped. It would be an abuse of the administration of tlie law of maritime lion to decree a lien for services, not clearly proved to have been entirely maritime and rendered to the particular res upon which the lien is claimed. A lien does not, and should not, attach tor a supposed credit given to a vessel, unless the service or supplies are" clearly shown to have been rendered or furnished to the particular vessel to which the credit is given.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Astor Trust Co. v. E. V. White & Co.