Bratton v. Speaks’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The issue in this appeal is: What effect shall be given a settlement of a tort claim made between an injured third party and the liability insurer, insofar as the rights of the insured are concerned? Although the liability insurance contract is not in the record, it is agreed by the parties hereto that the policy does not empower the insurer to settle claims for the insured but only to adjust demands against him. Furthermore, the standard liability insurance policy ordinarily gives the insurer the right to make such investigation, negotiation and adjustment of any claim or suit it deems necessary, and it is well-established the insurer may effect any compromise and release of the claim or suit of a third person it considers just and advantageous, provided in doing so it acts in good faith. Such authority permits the insurer to act independently in order to protect the insured’s as well as its own interest, since it is required by the policy to defend the insured against loss within the limits set forth therein. (Emphasis original). Speaks argues the liability insurer’s authority to settle his claim against Bratton by implication conferred authority upon the insurer to adjust any demand Bratton might have against him. To this contention we cannot lend our approval. It is a well-known principle of the law of agency that for the principal to be bound by the act of the agent, the latter must have acted with either the express or implied authority of his principal, and that if the”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bottoms v. Bottom