Fowler v. Davenport’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 24 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The general issue or general denial puts the plaintiff upon the proof of his cause of action by evidence, whatever else the defendant may have pleaded. Each plea presents a separate issue. The special plea in this case presents the issue that defendants used due diligence as private carriers and ordinary bailees for hire. With reference to that issue, thus presented, all the facts stated in that plea that are beneficial to the plaintiff, in disproving that issue, are admitted, and need not be otherwise established. A case might arise where there would be inconsistent and contradictory allegations in the same plea, and in that case the rule might well obtain that, for the purpose of the issue presented by that plea, the allegation most favorable to the plaintiff should be treated as an admission in his favor.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Curry v. E. E. Stone Lumber Co.