Steffes v. Vulcan Materials Co.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 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 1 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In construing a statute, it is presumed that the legislature did not intend unjust, absurd or unreasonable consequences. (People v. Illinois Commerce Comm’n (1983), 114 Ill. App. 3d 384 .) If the trial court’s interpretation of the term ‘majority of the owners of record’ is accepted, such consequences will result. Simply stated, anytime a record owner of one tract of land wishes to annex his property along with intervening parcels into a municipality, he will merely split ownership of his tract among as many family members, friends or straw men as is necessary to meet the signature requirement of an annexation petition. Just so in the instant case. The ownership of one 55-acre tract of land was divided among six family members, in order to force annexation of American Cyanamid Company (70 acres) and Vulcan Materials Company (75 acres) to the City of Joliet. This is unjust and unreasonable. Therefore, this court chooses to interpret section 7— 1 — 2 so that co-owners of one tract of land are to be collectively considered as only one owner of record.” 198 Ill. App. 3d at 72-73 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Steffes v. Vulcan Materials Co.