Chapman v. Lavy’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 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 18 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Our standard of review is governed by Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976). We will sustain the judgment of the trial court unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, unless it is against the weight of the evidence, or unless it erroneously declares or applies the law. We accept the evidence and inferences favorable to the prevailing party and disregard all contrary evidence. In assessing if there is substantial evidence, we must defer to the trial court on factual issues and cannot substitute our judgment for that of the trial judge. Where there is conflicting evidence, the trial court has the prerogative to determine the credibility of witnesses, accepting or rejecting all, part or none of the testimony.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lancaster v. Neff

2. “A claim of common law dedication may prevail absent formal dedication if: (1) there was evidence the owner clearly showed his intent to dedicate the land for public use; (2) the land was accepted by the public; and (3) the land was so used by the public.” Chapman, 20 S.W.3d at 613 . “Dedication is not required to be accepted by a governmental authority, so long as the land is in fact accepted by the public as demonstrated by the use made of it, which period of use need not exceed any required time limit.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Kleeman v. Kingsley

3. “Whether a road is public or private is determined by the extent of the right to use it, not by the extent to which that right is exercised or by the quantity of travel over it. A public roadway exists if the use of the roadway is free and common to all citizens, and [ ] the public has actual access to it. This determination is not wholly dependent on the roadways length, or on the place to which it leads, or on the number • of people who use it.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Stockley