Stephens v. Carter’s Empirical Analysis
1957
Citation profile
3 federal appellate · 14 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 17 later decisions — most recently September 2017
3 federal appellate · 14 state decisions
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.
Relationships
Relies on Ingold v. Phoenix Assurance Co. · Western North Carolina Railroad v. Deal · Springs v. . Refining Co. · Moore v. . Vallentine · Overman v. . Sasser
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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““For present purposes, a licensee is one who is given a simple permission to erect buildings or make other improvements on the land of another, but is not granted any estate or term of years in the land. . . . Such licensees are given unusually favorable consideration in the United States. Buildings or other improvements erected by the licensee not only do not become the property of the landowner, but remain the personal property of the tenant, and are not forfeited to the landowner if not removed when the license is revoked, or where the licensee dies. The licensee may dispose of his improvements as his personal chattels, and as to them the forms of action relating to personal property are applicable. Since the landowner’s consent that the licensee may erect the improvements on the land, and may remove them, creates no estate or interest in the land, such agreements may be oral and need not be in writing under the statute of frauds. Moreover, if consent is given to the placing of the fixtures on the land, then, without more, there is implied the consent that the licensee may remove them.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage““In the instant case the small tank was affixed to the soil by the Standard Oil Company 30 years ago. No attempt was ever made by Standard to remove or to assign any right to remove. The plaintiff does not allege this tank was installed with the intent or by agreement, either express or implied, that it ever be removed. The owner himself installed the larger tank 18 years ago. . . . Neither Rabón who attempted to convey by parol, nor the plaintiff who attempted to buy by parol, ever occupied the land as tenant. The court attempted to extend to a former owner (Rabón) and to a stranger (the plaintiff) a right to remove a trade fixture which is reserved only to a tenant.” (Emphasis supplied.)”
1 later decision quote this exact passage““The rule with respect to the right to remove trade fixtures which have been attached to the land is intended to cover those cases in which a tenant installs such fixtures for use during his occupancy with the understanding, express or implied, that they may be removed.” Stephens v. Carter, 246 N.C. 318, 320 , 98 S.E. 2d 311, 312 (1957).”
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.