Higgins v. Classen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 14 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 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In a purely equitable case, this court will consider the whole record, weigh the evidence, and, where the judgment of the trial court is against the clear weight of the evidence, will render or cause to be rendered such judgment as the trial court should have rendered.” “Where, by mutual mistake of the parties, a deed conveys property not intended by the parties to be conveyed, a court of equity will reform the deed to make it express the true intent.” “In order to justify a reformation of a deed, the evidence must be full, clear, unequivocal, and convincing as to the mistake and its mutuality. Mere preponderance of the evidence is not enough. The proof must establish the fact to a moral certainty and take the case out of the range of reasonable controversy. Where both the mistake and its mutuality are so established, a court of equity will reform the deed to conform to the intention and real agreement of the parties.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Fessler v. Fariss

2. ““ * * * In the absence of fraud, nothing can be put in or taken out by the court, unless it was the intention of both parties that it should go in or be left out when the agreement was written. The sole office of such an action ‘is to correct mistakes by writing out the contract according to the actual agreement.’ * * * In the absence of fraud on one side and mistake on the other, reformation is never based upon ignorance, although rescission may be, but upon what the parties agreed to, and then, by the mistake of both, failed to express in the writing. A mere mistake is not enough to support such an action, as it must not only be mutual, but special, for it must relate to something agreed upon, but not written out as agreed upon. * * * ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Fessler v. Fariss

3. ““The question of whether a claim is barred by laches must be determined by the facts and circumstances in each case and according to right and justice. Laches’ legal significance is not mere delay, but a delay that works a disadvantage to another.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Oklahoma City Federal Savings & L. Ass'n v. Swatek