Wilson v. Snow’s Empirical Analysis
228 U.S. 217 · 1913
Citation profile
21 federal appellate · 4 district · 30 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 56 later decisions — most recently January 1988 · most notably State v. Yoes (1967), Evans v. Ockershausen (1938)
21 federal appellate · 4 district · 30 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.
Appellate journey
reviewedthe decision below (from District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Relies on Red 'C' Oil Manufacturing Company v. Board of Agriculture of North Carolina a H C · Fulkerson v. Holmes · Peter v. Beverly · Taylor v. Benham · Nathaniel Crane v. The Lessee of Henry Gage Morris et al.
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 56 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Reading this will as whole, it is clear that the powers survived because coupled with an interest. It is true that the will did not specifically give the executors any interest in the land, nor was the word “trust” used by the testator. But the power to sell was coupled with the active and continuing duty of managing the property, making disposition thereof, and changing investments for the advantage of his family. Debts were to be paid and the executors were to care for the slaves. If in their discretion it became necessary, “my executor and executrix hereinafter named” were to sell all of the property and reinvest the proceeds in good stocks or otherwise; “in fact to exercise a sound discretion in the management, disposition and investment of my said estate [for the benefit and advantage of] my wife and children.” This was not a mere naked power to sell, but created an interest or raised a trust which would preserve the power to sell without regard to whether the interest was beneficial to the executors or not. For it is “the possession of a right in the subject over which the power is to be exercised that makes an interest” or creates “an authority coupled with an interest” which “survives for the purpose of effecting the object of the power.” (Emphasis added.)”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““Whenever any interest in the nature of a trust, or duty implying a trust, is created by a will, and there is no special designation of the executor or any other person as trustee, it is incumbent on the executor, as such, to administer the estate according to the provisions of the will. Where the duties imposed on executors are active and render the possession of the estate convenient and reasonably necessary, they will be deemed trustees for the performance of those duties to the same extent as though declared so to be in the most explicit terms.””
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.