Spitzer v. Bartelson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

16 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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “When, through fraud or mutual mistake of the parties, or a mistake of one party which the other at the time knew or suspected, a written contract does not truly express the intention of the parties, it may be revised on the application of a party aggrieved so as to express that intention so far as it can be done without prejudice to rights acquired by third persons in good faith and for value.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Goodall v. Monson · Estate of Vaage v. State

2. ““[I]t is well-established that parol evidence is admissible in a suit to reform a written instrument on the grounds of fraud or mutual mistake of the parties.” Ell v. Ell, 295 N.W.2d 143, 149 (N.D.1980). Accord Heart River Partners v. Goetzfried, 2005 ND 149, ¶ 12 , 703 N.W.2d 330 ; City of Fargo v. D.T.L. Properties, Inc., 1997 ND 109, ¶ 12 , 564 N.W.2d 274 ; Man v. Schtoan, 460 N.W.2d 131, 134 (N.D.1990); Ives v. Hanson, 66 N.W.2d 802, 805 (N.D.1954). “The nature of [a reformation] action is such that it is outside the field of operation of the parol evidence rule, since the court does not receive parol testimony to vary the contract of the parties but to show what their contract really was.” 66 Am.Jur.2d Reformation of Instruments § 114 (2001) (footnotes omitted). If courts refused to admit parol evidence in reformation cases, the rule would become “an instrument of the very fraud or mistake it was designed to prevent.” Ell , at 150. In reformation actions, courts “can properly look into the surrounding circumstances and take into consideration all facts which disclose the intention of the parties.” Id. (emphasis in original). “Any evidence that tends to show the true intention of the parties, whether it be evidence of conduct or declarations of the parties extrinsic to the contract or documentary evidence, is admissible.” Heart River Partners, 2005 ND 149, ¶ 14 , 703 N.W.2d 330 . See also 66 Am. Jur.2d, supra § 114 (footnotes omitted) (“[A]ny competent testimony which ten”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Johnson v. Hovland

3. ““Parol evidence of an alleged mutual mistake as a basis for the modification of a written instrument must be clear, satisfactory, specific and convincing, and a court of equity will not grant the high remedy of reformation even upon a mere preponderance of the evidence, but only upon the certainty of error.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Berkom v. Cordonnier