ARNOLD v. Ellis’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 38 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 40 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Defense counsel made a motion for a mistrial because, it was said, plaintiff's counsel, in the statement of his case to the jury, used a blackboard to show that Mrs. Ellis, of the age of thirty-five years and with a life expectancy of thirty-three years, at 20 cents an hour for the pain which she had endured and would endure, would be damaged to the amount of $57,816. The motion was overruled and appellants contend that this was error. "It is practically impossible to prove the exact dollar and cent value of pain in varying degrees. Such determination must be left to the jury, who, in the exercise of common sense and judgment, are vested with the right and duty to make a fair appraisal of the amount which should be awarded as compensation for that element of damage. Counsel, in his chart, was merely stating what he thought would be the damage for his client's pain and suffering. He had a perfect right to do this, as was held in Four-County Electric Power Association v. Clardy, 221 Miss. 403 , 73 So. 2d 144, 151 , 44 A.L.R.2d 1191 , where under similar circumstances, this Court said. `Counsel had the right to state to the jury what he thought would be proper damages for the jury to award for this item, (pain) in his opening statement and arguments.' See also Nehi Bottling Company v. Jefferson, [ 226 Miss. 586 ] 84 So.2d 684 , and cases there cited. The motion was properly overruled.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Crum v. Ward