Wilson v. Shepherd’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““There is a great diversity of opinion as to the effect of taking possession of lands under a mistake as to the boundary thereof; some decisions hold broadly that possession up to a fixed boundary in misápprehension or ignorance of the true boundary is necessarily hostile and will ripen into adverse title, on the theory that the visible possession itself imports hostility and claim of right, or under the influence' of local statutory provisions making the physical characteristics of possession the sole test of adverse possession. The weight of authority, however, is to the effect that the character of a possession up to a supposed line under a mistake respecting location of the true line is dependent upon the possessor’s intent with respect to ownership, being * * * adverse if the intent is to hold to the fixed line regardless of the location of the true boundary or in the firm but erroneous belief that the boundary fixed is the true line, and being amicable if the in tent- is to ■ claim only to the true line wherever it may he located. “Under the view that the possessor’s intent with respect to claim of ownership is controlling’, it is unimportant whether he made a mistake as to location of the true boundary, or whether he acted in good or bad faith, and it is the presence or absence of the requisite intention, not that of mistake, which determines the character of possession.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Marcum v. Noble