Williams v. Kidd’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 193 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 201 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘Delivery’ is a word of well-defined meaning in the law. It is. the act, however evidenced, by which the instrument takes effect and title thereby passes. Of course it is true that after such delivery no acts of declarations of the grantor in derogation of his grant will be received. But, where the vital question is whether or not he did deliver the instrument, and where, as always in such cases, his lips are sealed by death, and the opposing testimony of the grantee or depositary, honest or fraudulent, cannot be contradicted by him, it is but an invitation to fraud and perjury and to their success to refuse admission to such evidence.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mower v. Mower

2. ““And,” says the court, in Williams v. Kidd, 170 Cal. 631 , 638, 151 Pac. 1 , 3 (Ann. Cas. 1916E, 703), “the true test under which delivery is to he determined is in ascertaining whether in parting with the possession of the conveyance the grantor intended thereby to divest himself of title. If he did, there was an effective delivery of the deed. If not, there was no delivery.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Pickens v. Merriam

3. ““Further it is to be noted that ‘execution’ is a word of well-defined legal meaning, and is here employed with that meaning. ‘Execution’ includes effective delivery.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In re Quartz Crystal Products Co.