209 W. Va. 384 - Whorton v. Malone’s Empirical Analysis
2001
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 6 state decisions
Relationships
Applies 33 U.S.C. § 1251 (Alternative Water Sources Act of 2000)
Relies on 148 W. Va. 160 - Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Federal Insurance Co. of New York · 192 W. Va. 189 - Painter v. Peavy · 194 W. Va. 770 - State Ex Rel. McGraw v. Scott Runyan Pontiac-Buick, Inc. · Mandolidis v. Elkins Industries, Inc. · 164 W. Va. 241 - Masinter v. Webco Co.
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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“altering the natural flow or drainage of surface water upon one’s land such that the water causes damage to another party is not “reasonable” merely because the person altering the flow of water sought to protect his or her own property and did not intend to harm any other party.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage“Generally, under the rule of reasonable use, the landowner, in dealing with surface water, is entitled to take only such steps as are reasonable, in light of all the circumstances of relative advantage to the actor and disadvantage to the adjoining landowners, as well as social utility.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“[i]t is an inescapable fact of nature that, surface water `originates' elsewhere. It either falls from the sky, comes up from a spring, or flows from a higher grade to a lower one. But whether it comes from a cloud, spring, or an upstream neighbor, once that water arrives upon a given property, that property owner `is entitled to take only such steps as are reasonable,' in diverting it.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.