Wright v. Bryan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The general rule is that a contract for the sale of real estate is not void merely because the vendor does not have the capacity to convey good title at the time of contracting, provided the vendor acquires such capacity by the time fixed for his performance .... Furthermore, the contract does not lack mutuality merely because the seller’s wife did not sign it ... . After the parties executed the contract, they had only to perform their promises. If either party failed to do so, this would have constituted a breach rendering the defaulting party liable to the other. Certainly, specific performance was foreclosed, due to the nature of a tenancy by the entirety, because the seller’s wife did not sign the contract .... But even though the contract cannot be so enforced and is void so far as it purports to affect the wife’s title to the property, it nevertheless retains its "validity between the parties as a foundation for an action at law to recover damages for breach of contract." (Citing Ingram, supra).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. O'Neill v. Fairchild