Webster v. Fleming’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

15 federal appellate · 37 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 54 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"This may be admitted to be correct, but the rule that a third party cannot bring an action in his own name on a contract under seal between third parties, where he is not a party to such contract under seal, is a rule which grows merely out of the requirements of the common law in relation to forms of action. Where the reason of a rule fails, the rule itself ceases. "At common law, only an action of covenant or debt could be brought upon a sealed instrument. The rule that, when one person covenants with another to pay money to or perform some act for the benefit of a third person named in the deed, the action must be brought in the name of the covenantee in the deed, and cannot be maintained by the third person in his own name, even though he is a party in interest, and even though it is expressly stated to be for his benefit, has its origin in the nature of the action of covenant, inasmuch as only a party to the instrument under seal can bring an action of covenant or debt."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 112 Ind. App. 394 - Vanorman v. Vanorman