Garrett v. Swanton’s Empirical Analysis
1932
Citation profile
4 federal appellate · 2 district · 50 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 57 later decisions — most recently January 2011 · most notably State and Diver v. City of Miami (1933), 19 Cal. 2d 483 - City of Los Angeles v. Offner (1942)
4 federal appellate · 2 district · 50 state decisions — followed in 13 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Albert Waite v. City of Santa Cruz · McBean v. City of Fresno · City of Joliet v. Alexander · City of Bowling Green v. Kirby · In Re City and County of San Francisco
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 57 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““It is the contention of respondents that since by the terms of this contract the indebtedness or liability is made payable solely out of a specified fund created entirely from the income of the water system, and is not a general obligation of the city, the constitutional provision has not been violated. This so-called ‘special fund’ doctrine finds ample support in the decisions of other jurisdictions where constitutional debt limit provisions similar to the one here involved, exist. It seems to be the majority rule in other jurisdictions that a limitation upon municipal indebtedness is not violated by an obligation which is payable out of a special fund, if the municipality is not liable to pay the same out of its general funds should the special fund prove to be insufficient, and the transaction by which the indebtedness is incurred cannot in any event deplete the resources of the municipality. [Citing cases.] . . . “The recent decisions of this court would seem to leave no room for doubt that the ‘special fund’ doctrine has been adopted in this state.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““By the very terms of the ordinance relied upon, as above quoted, the revenue from the water plant is likewise to be used to pay the interest and principal on the bonds, which are general obligations of the city. If this fund is depleted, the obligation to feed the fund will fall upon the taxpayer. Respondents state: ‘The money in the special fund cannot be placed in the general fund, nor used for charges to be met from tax-raised funds.’ Such a contention is directly in the face of the terms of the ordinance relied on by respondents, because that ordinance specifically states that the money in the water fund shall be used to pay a general obligation of the city; namely, the interest and principal on the bonds.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage““The overwhelming weight of judicial opinion in this country is to the effect that bonds, or other forms of obligation issued by states, cities, counties, political subdivisions, or public agencies by legislative sanction and authority, if such particular bonds or obligations are secured by and payable only from the revenues to be realized from a particular utility or property, acquired with the proceeds of the bonds or obligations, do not constitute debts of the particular state, political subdivision, or public agency issuing them, within the definition of ‘debts’ as used in the constitutional provisions of the states having limitations as to the incurring of indebtedness.” (Italics ours.)”
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.