Farrell v. Faries’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

15 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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The words `child and children' are primarily and presumptively words of purchase. Their technical and legal meaning is the immediate offspring and not an indefinite line of heirs. * * * In their natural import they are not words of limitation unless it is to comply with the intention of the testator, when they cannot take effect in any other way. * * * They are properly descriptive of a particular class or generation of issue, and point at individual acquisition, not at heritable succession. * * * Both in law and in common parlance they have only one meaning, although they may be shown by the context to have been improperly used in the sense of descendants. " (Emphasis added.) The same thought was expressed in Dodson v. Ball, 60 Pa. 492 , 100 Am.Dec. 586, where it is said: "The decisions in all the cases show the undoubted tendency of the judicial mind in this state to follow the true intention of the donor, and whenever he means to limit an estate to the heirs of the life tenant, no matter how his intent is expressed, an estate of inheritance will vest in the tenant for life; but when he intends his bounty to vest in certain persons, though they may be the same as the heirs at law, the life estate will not be enlarged * * *.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In Re Wilson's Will

2. ““* * * The true interpretation of the word must be found from the connection in which it is used. Here, the word, in a provisional phrase merely, is in immediate contextual relation with an express limitation of the remainder to ‘child or children’; and it is abundantly clear so far that the testator used the word ‘issue’ as synonymous with ‘child or children.’ ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 31 Del. Ch. 247 - Equitable Trust Co. v. Best

3. ““* * * and after the death of my said niece, if she leaves lawful issue of her body, it is my will that the above described real estate, shall go to the child or children of my said niece, their heirs or assigns forever.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Farrell v. Faries