Giddings v. Steele’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

38 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 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “There is a question with us, which has not been discussed sufficiently perhaps, whether the plaintiff, as the heir of the intestate, can sue for this land before it is made to appear that the administration has been closed up; if valid, it is a general rule that the heirs cannot sue in their own right as heirs, for property of the estate; the administrator or executor must sue, else there might be two suits at the same time, one by the heir, and the other by the administrator or executor. ([Moore v. Morse] 2 Tex. 400 ; Id. [Evans v. Oakley, 2 Tex.] 182.) There are exceptions to this rule, as when the administration has been closed, or when there are no debts against the estate and no administrator; in these cases, the reason of the rule not applying, the heirs may sue. ([Lacy v. Williams' Heirs] 8 Tex. 182 .) When there are creditors or an administrator of the estate, the heirs should not be permitted to sue for and recover property of the estate in their own right, and hold it against the administrator and the creditors, and thus effect a partition of the estate in whole or part, without satisfying the debts against the estate. It would seem to be a safe rule not to permit the heirs to recover property by suit in their own right, unless they make it appear that the administration has been closed, or that the condition of the estate is equivalent to that, by showing there is no administrator appointed or acting, and that there are no debts against the estate.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Youngs v. Youngs