Patchell v. Groom’s Empirical Analysis
1945
Citation profile
31 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 31 later decisions — most recently November 2018 · most notably Emmert v. Hearn (1987), Cole v. Bailey (1958)
31 state decisions
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 Estate of Childs v. Hoagland · Slingluff v. Johns · Lycett v. Thomas · Mazziotte v. Safe Deposit & Trust Co. · Plummer v. Shepherd
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 31 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“In the construction of wills, the sole object of the inquiry is to ascertain the intention of the testator. When ordinary words are used, these are to be taken in their ordinary meaning unless a contrary intention clearly appears. Likewise, when recognized legal terms are used, the testator is presumed to have used such terms with the knowledge of their technical meaning, and with the purpose of employing that meaning in the disposition of his property. But even technical meanings may vary with surrounding circumstances, and legal terms may mean one thing in one will and have a different meaning in another. The final inquiry in each such case is what did this testator mean by the use of this term in this will [Emphasis in original.]”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“frequently contain language or have circumstances tending to corroborate the conclusions that the term `issue' or `descendants' has been used as substantially the equivalent of `heirs of the body' and hence that distribution should be made in accordance with the law of intestate succession.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“takers are to be the issue per capita, and the qualification seems to dispose of the question of interpretation.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
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.