Gochee v. Wagner’s Empirical Analysis
1931
Citation profile
2 district · 108 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 116 later decisions — most recently February 2004 · most notably Christensen v. Hennepin Transportation Co. Inc. (1943), Straffus v. Barclay (1949)
2 district · 108 state decisions — followed in 11 states
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 Potts v. . Pardee · Psota v. Long Island R.R. Co. · Rolfe v. . Hewitt
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 116 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“‘ ‘ Prior to the enactment of section 282-e of the Highway Law (1924; Cons. Laws, ch. 25) the law in this jurisdiction was firmly established that the owner of a vehicle was not liable for negligent injury caused in its operation by another unless at the time it was being used on his business. (Rolfe v. Hewett, 227 N. Y. 486 .) “ The owner was not liable for the negligence of a person to whom he had loaned his car, whether a member of his family or a stranger, while the car was being used upon the business or pleasure of the borrower. (Potts v. Pardee, 220 N. Y. 431 .) ‘' It was to change this well-established rule that the Legislature enacted section 282-e, now section 59, of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (Cons. Laws, ch. 71), for the purpose of making the owner liable for the negligence of a person legally operating the car with the permission, express or implied, of the owner. Section 59 reads in part: ‘ Every owner of a motor vehicle or motor cycle operated upon a public highway shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the operation of such motor vehicle or motor cycle, in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person legally using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner. ’ ””
1 later decision quote this exact passage““It was respondent’s car, he was present and had the legal right to control its operation, and the negligent conduct of the driver was imputable to him. The mere fact that he chose to sit on the rear seat and refrained from directing its operation did not change his rights or limit his liability.””
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.