Friend v. Holcombe’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

30 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The question as to whether the use of the land of another is permissive is often difficult and in many instances is based on the facts and circumstances of the individual case. The prevailing rule is that where a claimant has shown an open, visible, continuous and unmolested use of land for the period of time sufficient to acquire an easement by adverse user, the use will be presumed to be under a claim of right, and the owner of the servient estate, in order to avoid the acquisition of an easement by prescription has the burden of rebutting this presumption by showing that the use was permissive. 17 Am. Jur. 981 ; 19 C. J. 959. This rule, however, appears to be elastic and the proof of adverse user, to create prescriptive right to passway that traverses uninclosed lands, must be much more convincing than proof required to establish same right when passway traverses clear or inclosed land. Evans v. Bullock, 260 Ky. 214 , 84 S. W. 2d 26 . The reason supporting this latter rule is that few owners of uninclosed land pay any attention to the travel over it, but when there is much travel over inclosed or cultivated land it is, as a rule, a serious inconvenience as well as a source of annoyance to the owner and as to the latter status it will be presumed that the use was with the knowledge of the owner, and that if he permits its use for the requisite period without attempting to interfere, his action will be taken as his implied consent thereto, while the mere fact that he permit”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Irion v. Nelson · Telford v. Stettmund

2. ““In the present case the evidence disclosed that no objection was ever made by the defendants or their predecessors in title to people crossing their lands. No doubt they and their predecessors in title were following the ‘good neighbor’ policy, .... and defendants’ attention was never called to the fact that plaintiff or others using the roadway were claiming such use as a right or adversely to defendants, nor was there any testimony in the record that would impute to defendants that the use by plaintiff and others was adverse.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Irion v. Nelson · 2012 OK CIV APP 48 - McGlothlin v. Livingston

3. ““A mere permissive use of a way over the land of another, however long indulged in, will not ripen into an easement.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Zimmerman v. Newport