McLean v. Hill’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is true that generally speaking a court of equity has discretion ‘over the subject of costs.’ Code, sec. 3527 [now Code, § 14-174 2 ]. But such discretion must be exercised soundly and in the light of the result obtained in the litigation by the respective parties. We have several times said that in the exercise of this discretion the chancellor should award costs in favor of the party or parties ‘substantially prevailing.’ Adkins v. Edwards, 83 Va. 300, 307 , 2 S. E. 435 ; Harman v. Moss, 121 Va. 399, 411, 412 , 93 S. E. 609 . “See also, Peters v. Waverly Water-Front Improv., etc., Co., 113 Va. 318, 325 , 74 S. E. 168 ; Williams v. Bond, 120 Va. 678, 689 , 91 S. E. 627 ; Morison v. Dominion Nat. Bank, 172 Va. 293, 303 , 1 S. E. (2d) 292, 295 , in which decrees of the lower court were modified or reversed because costs had not been awarded in accordance with this principle.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Safway Steel Scaffolds of Virginia, Inc. v. Coulter