Smith v. Thompson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The only litigable question presented by the record is whether the conveyance in question was intended to operate as a mortgage. Equity invariably looks through form to substance. Lamkin v. Lovell, 176 Ala. 334 , 58 South. 258 . We have already expressed our opinion that the conveyance in dispute was with an agreement, ita substance, that complainant might redeem, The right to redeem is an inherent and essential characteristic of every mortgage, and the agreement in this case, we think, was the legal equivalent of an agreement that defendant should hole! the title as security for the payment of the debts which constituted the consideration upon which the instrument was executed, an agreement which, but for the statute (section 4497 of the Code), would have made appellant an equitable mortgagee.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Fowler v. Haggins

2. ““By a long line of decisions it is fully established that a deed absolute on its face may be shown by parol to have been intended to operate as a mortgage.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Fowler v. Haggins