Evans v. . Johnson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

32 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 34 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The right of a defendant sued in tort to bring into the action another joint tort-feasor and upon sufficient plea to maintain his cross action against him for the purpose of determining his contingent liability for contribution is given by statute, G.S. 1-240, and upheld by numerous decisions of this Court. Wilson v. Massagee, 224 N.C. 705 ; Godfrey v. Power Co., 223 N.C. 647 . The purpose of the statute is to permit defendants in tort actions to litigate mutual contingent liabilities before they have accrued, Lackey v. R. R., 219 N.C. 195 , 13 S.E. 2d 234 , so that all matters in controversy growing out of the same subject of action may be settled in one action, Freeman v. Thompson, 216 N.C. 484 , 5 S.E. 2d 434 , though the plaintiff in the action may be thus delayed in securing his remedy. Montgomery v. Blades, 217 N.C. 654 , 9 S.E. 2d 397 . Joint tort-feasors are those who act together in committing a wrong, or whose acts, if independent of each other, unite in causing a single injury. Bost v. Metcalfe, 219 N.C. 607 , 14 S.E. 2d 648 . The right thus conferred by the statute is ‘rooted in and springs from the plaintiff’s suit, but projects itself beyond that suit.’ Godfrey v. Power Co., supra.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. White v. Keller