Neblett v. Butler’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"However, strictly speaking, a personal representative does not have authority to bind an estate for legal service. Art. 3691, Vernon's Ann.Tex.Civ.Statutes, provides: `Executors * * * shall also be allowed all reasonable expenses necessarily incurred by them in the preservation * * * of the estate, and all reasonable attorney's fees, that may be necessarily incurred by them in the course of the administration.' A personal representative owes the duty to preserve the estate, and expenses which he incurs in the performance of such duties he may recover. A prudent executor will only agree to pay an attorney, whom he employs, reasonable attorney's fees, for if the reasonableness of the fees is contested, the executor can only recover such as are reasonable. Whether an executor, who is a lawyer, performs the services himself, or employs another, the reasonableness of the fees charged must stand the same test. So what difference could it make whether a lawyer-executor employs another lawyer, or performs the services himself? A testator chooses his executor because he thinks him trustworthy, and we think it unlikely the testator would not want the lawyer, to whom he intrusted the management of his estate, to be intrusted with the management of the law business incident thereto. And as already pointed out, he does not have to trust him to fix a fee that is not exorbitant, the law prevents that. We therefore question the soundness of a public policy which would tend to defeat a testa”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Burton v. Bean · Henderson v. Viesca

2. “"In 11 R.C.L., p. 231, it is said: `It has been stated that if he (the executor) chooses to exercise his professional skill as a lawyer in the business of the estate, it must be considered a gratuity, and that to allow him to become his own client and charge for professional services, would be holding out inducements for professional men to seek such representative places to increase their professional business, which would lead to most pernicious results.' "There is certainly very respectable authority for holding that executors cannot employ themselves to render legal services for the benefit of an estate."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Burton v. Bean