Wright v. Osborne’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 federal appellate · 4 district · 19 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Negligence, without qualification, and in its ordinary sense, is the failure of a responsible person, either by omission or by action, to exercise that degree of care, vigilance and forethought which, in the discharge of the duty then resting on him, the person of ordinary caution and prudence ought to exercis.e under the particular circumstances. It is a want of diligence commensurate with the requirement of the duty at the moment imposed by the law. “Gross negligence is substantially and appreciably higher in magnitude than ordinary negligence. It is materially more want of care than constitutes simple inadvertence. It is an act or omission respecting legal duty of an aggravated character as distinguished from a mere failure to exercise ordinary care. It is very great negligence, or the absence of slight diligence, or the want of even scant care. It amounts to indifference to present legal duty and to utter forgetfulness of legal obligations so far as other persons may be affected. It is a needless and palpable violation of legal duty respecting the rights of others. The element of culpability which characterizes all negligence is in gross negligence magnified to a high degree as compared with that present in ordinary negligence. Gross negligence is a manifestly smaller amount of watchfulness and circumspection than the circumstances require of a person of ordinary prudence. * * * It falls short of being such reckless disregard of probable consequences as is equivalent to ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 37 F. Supp. 412 - Krueger v. Taylor

2. ““The Court instructs the jury that in this case the deceased was a mere guest in the automobile, and it is the duty of the jury to find for the defendant, unless they believe from a preponderance of the evidence that the accident was caused by gross negligence of the defendant, Donald J. Ketchmark. “And the Court instructs the jury that gross negligence is that degree of negligence which shows an utter disregard of prudence amounting to a complete neglect of the safety of another. It is such heedless and reckless disregard of the rights of another as should shock fair-minded men.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ketchmark v. Lindauer, Adm'r

3. “from the gross negligence or wilful and wanton disregard of the safety”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Alspaugh v. Diggs