Vellines v. Ely’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

13 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. “Apart from all of this, the contract itself, as written, is unambiguous. This is stated as a reason for its execution .... “it is now desired to adjust and settle the property rights of the said parties. “Now, therefore, in settlement, adjustment and compromise of all property rights [italics supplied in original] and in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants herein contained, the parties hereto have agreed, as follows .... “2. It is mutually agreed and understood between the parties hereto that each may freely sell or otherwise dispose of his or her own property by gift, deed or will, without in any wise encumbering the rights of the other . . . When this settlement was made, the cash surrender value of these policies was over $2,000. Of course, his interest in them was a property right. While the wife’s interest was contingent, it was also a property right. Certainly she cannot be heard to say it was not then a property right, for she is now claiming their entire proceeds [emphasis added].”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Woodmen of the World Life Ins. v. Synowietz