O'Brien v. Elder’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

27 federal appellate · 5 district · 17 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 55 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is generally true that divorce alone does not automatically divest the wife of the proceeds of life insurance in which she is the named beneficiary * * *. The beneficiary’s interest may be terminated, however, by an agreement between the parties which may reasonably be construed as a relinquishment of the spouse’s rights to the insurance j{C jJj ‡ V”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Jackson Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. Baker · Romero v. Melendez

2. ““1. That the defendant shall pay to the plaintiff the Sum of Twenty Thousand ($20,000.00) Dollars in the following manner, to-wit: Eight Thousand ($8,000.00) Dollars at the time of the entry of the final decree; Two Thousand ($2,000.00) Dollars on January 5, 1956, and Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars on May 5, 1956. “2. That upon the payment of the entire said Twenty Thousand ($20,000.00) Dollars, the plaintiff shall convey to the defendant, all of her right, title and interest in and to any real property jointly owned by the parties hereto. “3. That the defendant shall transfer to the plaintiff the title to the 1949 Packard Sedan automobile now in his name. “4. That the defendant shall retain all monies in the joint special checking account of the parties in the First National Bank of Miami, together with the safety deposit box in said bank. “5. That all stocks, bonds, deposits and other intangibles in the individual names of the parties hereto shall be retained by said party. “6. That the nursery stock located at the home of the parties hereto, shall become the sole property of the defendant. “7. That upon the performance of all of the conditions contained in this stipulation, neither party hereto shall have any claim on the other party of any kind whatsoever, including that for alimony.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Ninno v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America

3. ““ * * * The beneficiary’s interest though only an expectancy is therefore derived from the insured and is a claim subsumed under the release in this agreement by the wife of ‘any claim [against the husband] * * * of any kind whatsoever.’ Where the right to change the beneficiary is not reserved the beneficiary’s interest becomes vested when the policy is issued. The beneficiary in effect becomes the real owner of the policy and any claim he may have is against the insurance company and not the insured. In that event, of course, the beneficiary’s interest is not embraced by a separation agreement providing for the release by the parties of all claims against each other (see John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. of Boston, Mass., v. Heidrick, 135 N.J.Eq. 326, 38 A.2d 442 ). Here, however, it is apparent that the claim with respect to the insurance exists between the parties to the agreement. We therefore find that the proceeds of these policies are covered by the language of this paragraph- of the agreement.”

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