Smith v. Holt’s Empirical Analysis
1939
Citation profile
32 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 32 later decisions — most recently October 2012 · most notably Granberry v. Jones (1949), 2 Haw. App. 365 - Whitesell v. Houlton (1981)
32 state decisions — followed in 11 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Oakes · Robinson v. Clapp · Michalson v. Nutting · Gostina v. Ryland · Grandona v. Lovdal
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 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“a sensible injury has been inflicted by the protrusion of roots from a noxious tree or plant onto the land of another, [the owner of land invaded by protruding roots or limbs from a neighbor's lands] has, after notice, a right of action at law for trespass.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“the common law has recognized that it is wiser to leave the individual to protect himself, if harm results to him from this exercise of another's right to use his property in a reasonable way, than to subject that other to the annoyance, and the public to the burden, of actions at law, which would be likely to be innumerable and, in many instances, purely vexatious.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Fancher v. Fagella“"`It would be intolerable to give an action in the case of an innoxious tree whenever its growing branches extend so far as to pass beyond the boundary line and overhang a neighbor's soil.' It would be equally intolerable where roots penetrate the neighbor's soil."”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Abbinett v. Fox
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.