Flinn v. Blakeman’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 56 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 63 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “To start the running of the statute of limitations, the disseizor must have an actual possession; it must-be an open, notorious, and visible possession; it must be a selfish or exclusive possession, that is the disseizor must hold possession for himself to the exclusion of the true owner, and all others; it must be a hostile possession, not only as against the true owner but as against the world; it must be a definite possession, that is its confines must be marked by an inclosure or other plainly visible indications; the disseizor must fly his flag, and indicate the lines of his dominion, the extent of his possession must be evident; and it must be a possession under a claim by the disseizor of ownership in himself, so notorious as to amount to a constructive notice of its adverseness. When all these things coexist, the running of the statute starts. To keep it running the disseizor must in this commonwealth maintain that status in full vigor in all its elements for every hour of every day for 15 years....”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Moore v. Stills

2. ““acquire title through such a stretching operation to other property about which he might mark a line. A disseizor to acquire title by adverse possession must have possession of the property he hopes to acquire. He is not in possession of it, if while he is living on another tract, he simply mentally extends his claim over it.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Moore v. Stills