Crane Co. v. Onley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 district · 34 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 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Equitable estoppel is the effect of the voluntary conduct of a party whereby he is absolutely precluded, both at law and in equity, from asserting rights which may have otherwise existed, either of property, of contract or of remedy, against another person who has in good faith relied upon such conduct and has been led thereby to change his position for the worse, and who on his part acquired some corresponding right either of property, of contract or of remedy. Whatever may be the real intention of the parties making the representation, it is absolutely essential that this representation, whether consisting of words, acts or silence, should be believed and relied upon as the inducement or action by the party who claims the benefit of the estoppel and that, so relying upon it and induced by it, he should have taken some action. The cases all agree that there can be no estoppel unless the party who alleges it relied upon the representation and was induced to act by it and thus relying and induced took some action on that representation. * * * Equitable estoppel operates to prevent a party from asserting his rights under a general technical rule of law, when that party has so conducted himself that it would be contrary to equity and good conscience to allow him to do so.””

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. J. F. Johnson Lumber Co. v. Magruder · 62 Md. App. 79 - Berkson v. Berryman

2. ““In the case of Benson v. Borden, 174 Md. 202 , 198 A. 419 , Judge Mitchell discusses the difference between waiver and estoppel, often used synonymously. He quotes at pages 219 and 220 of 174 Md., at page 427 of 198 A. from 40 Cyc. 255: ‘While waiver belongs to the family of estoppel, and the doctrine of estoppel lies at the foundation of the law of waiver, they are nevertheless distinguishable terms. * * * Waiver is the voluntary surrender of a right; estoppel is the inhibition to assert it from, the mischief that has followed. Waiver involves both knowledge and intention; estoppel may arise where there is no intent to mislead. Waiver depends upon what one himself intends to do; estoppel depends rather upon what he causes his adversary to do. Waiver involves the acts and conduct of only one of the parties; estoppel involves the conduct of both. A waiver does not necessarily imply that one has been misled to his prejudice or into an altered position; an estoppel always involves this element. * * * Estoppel may carry the implication of fraud, waiver does not. A waiver may be created by acts, conduct or declarations insufficient to create a technical estoppel.’ ” (Emphasis supplied.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. MacPhail v. Sagner