Fegeas v. Sherrill’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 federal appellate · 20 district · 43 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 81 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “intentional and effective the hiding of a material fact with the attained object of creating or continuing a false impression as to that fact.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Leonard v. Sav-A-Stop Services, Inc. · 182 Md. App. 516 - Rhee v. HIGHLAND DEVELOPMENT CORP.

2. “Although it is generally recognized that termite infestation of real estate materially reduces its value, the courts are divided as to the duty of the vendor to give the purchaser information as to the infestation. Thus, it has been held that unless the vendor stands in a fiduciary or other similar relation of trust with respect to the purchaser or the sale is not one at arm’s length, he has no duty to disclose termite infestation in the real estate sold. In support of this rule, it has been said that the law has not yet reached the point of imposing upon the frailties of human nature a standard so idealistic as to hold every seller liable who fails to disclose any nonapparent defect known to him in the subject of sale which materially reduces its value and which the buyer fails to discover. In a few recent decisions, however, the courts held that termite infestation can obviously become a serious and dangerous condition and, if known to the vendor, must in good faith be disclosed to the purchaser, since caveat emptor is no longer rigidly applied to the complete exclusion of any moral or legal obligation to disclose material facts not readily observable upon reasonable inspection by the purchaser, and that the object of the law is to impose on parties to the transaction a duty to speak whenever justice, equity, and fair dealing demand it.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 299 Pa. Super. 9 - Quashnock v. Frost

3. ““Unless the seller of real estate, because of fiduciary or other similar relations of trust, is under a duty to disclose facts as to the property known to him but not to the buyer, generally he need not do so, particularly if those facts may be ascertained by the buyer by reasonable inspection or investigation, and the transaction is at arm’s length. 3 Pomeroy, Equity Jurisprudence, Fifth Ed., § 904, says: Tn ordinary contracts of sale, where no previous fiduciary relation exists, and where no confidence, express or implied, growing out of or connected with the very transaction itself, is reposed on the vendor, and the parties are dealing with each other at arm’s length, and the purchaser is presumed to have as many reasonable opportunities for ascertaining all the facts as any other person in his place would have had, then the general doctrine already stated applies: no duty to disclose material facts known to himself rests upon the vendor; his failure to disclose is not a fraudulent concealment.’ See 1 Black, op. cit., Sec. 41; Restatement, Torts, § 551; 91 C.J.S. Vendor and Purchaser § 57.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Polson v. Martin