Nelson v. Iverson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

32 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 34 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It cannot be the law, that if the way-faring man stop at my house and I extend to him the usual civilities and courtesies of life, feed his horse and take charge of his baggage, that after I have restored to him his horse and baggage, without notice or demand of the true owner, I should be liable in detinue or any other action for the property thus temporarily in my possession. The application of such a principle, as has been justly remarked, ‘would bring about a state of distrust and suspicion tending to destroy the courtesies of life, and to clog the business transactions of society.’ — Per -Underwood, J'., dissenting, 1 Dana’s Rep. 122. We take the true doctrine to be this: If the bailee have the temporary possession of property, holding the same as the property of the bailor and asserting no title in himself, and in good faith in fulfilment of the terms of the bailment, either as expressed by the parties or implied by law, restores the property to the bailor before he is notified that the true owner will look to him for it, no action will lie against him, for he has only done what was his duty.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Paccos v. Rosenthal