Guilford v. . Porter’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 4 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is contended by the plaintiff that the provision [of restricted use] in said deeds is void: First, because the condition is repugnant to the estate in fee simple already grant ed, and that such condition should be rejected and treated as surplusage. This position is untenable. If such a construction of a deed ever obtained in this state, it does not now. The narrow rules of the common law in construing deeds and other instruments, as expounded in Hafner v. Irwin, 20 N. C. 570 , 34 Am. Dec. 390 , taken from Coke & Blackstone, have given way to a more enlightened and broader doctrine. The whole of a deed is now so construed as to effectuate the plainly expressed intention of the grantor, and to carry out the manifest purposes of the parties. The technicalities of the common law will not be permitted to override the intention so expressed.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Magnolia Petroleum Co. v. Suits