Pierson v. Manning’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It was also in argument contended, that by section 4 of chapter 82, the question of fraud is made a question of fact, and that without proof of the fact, the assignment cannot be adjudged fraudulent. This, by a species of illegitimate construction, is carrying that provision of the statute entirely beyond what the legislature ever intended, or it will legally bear. It is not to be presumed that the legislature intended, by this simple provision, to make such a radical reform as to turn principles of law into questions of fact, nor does it in fact or inferentially do so. In that class of cases where the assignment is unconditional, and in other respects legally unexceptionable on its face, it would, of course, become necessary for the party alleging it to be fraudulent, and seeking to avoid it on that ground, to resort to extrinsic facts and proof aliunde the assignment, in support of the allegations. Such extrinsic proof, however, is not necessary, nor is it required by the statute or any known rule of law, where the evidence of the fraud, or of the fraudulent intent of the assignor clearly and fully appears on the face of the instrument.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Anderson v. Chapman