Joseph Swift v. Donald a McPherson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

63 federal appellate · 9 district · 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 116 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Ordinarily, such a question is answered by a mere inspection of the decree —the presumption being that a dismissal in equity, without qualifying words, is a final decision on the merits. That presumption of finality, however, disappears whenever the record shows that the court did not pass upon the merits, but dismissed the bill because of a want of jurisdiction, for want of parties, because the suit was brought prematurely, because the plaintiff had a right to file a subsequent bill on the same subject-matter, or on any other ground not going , to the merits. The scope of such decree must in all cases be measured, not only by the allegations of the bill, but by the ground of the demurrer or motion on which the dismissal was based. Hughes v. United States, 4 Wall. 232 , 237; Mayor of Vicksburg v. Henson, 231 U. S. 259 .””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Groblewski v. John Chmiell Co. · Haney v. Neace-Stark Co.