Simpson v. Piscano’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 4 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Perhaps the problem with the majority’s conclusion can be better understood if reciprocal wills are not involved. For instance, suppose the testator died, predeceased by the only legatee mentioned in his will. Suppose further that the legatee left a will naming A his legatee and at the time of the testator’s death, A is also dead. The reasoning of the majority would require distribution of the property to the legatee and according to his will to A. But just as Leona is dead, A is dead. Again the reasoning of the majority would further require us to give the property to A’s heirs just as the property was given to Leona’s heirs. But what if A had a will and there are persons named therein to take? Do we distribute according to his will? Do we again apply the anti-lapse statute to legacies in his will? When does the chain end? The decision of the Court creates the potential for unwarranted results and this Court should be loathe to adopt a construction of a statute which leads to absurd consequences.”

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

2. “Obviously, that situation is not before us. Whether the wills are reciprocal makes no difference. The reason in the case at bar that the ineffective disposition or intestacy statute comes into play relative to the wife’s will is because it is she who has made an ineffective disposition. She left to her husband. He predeceased her. He devised his whole estate to her. Thus, under the lapsed legacy statute the estate passes to the nominee of the deceased legatee. Since in this instance his nominee is the wife it is she, not the husband, who has made an ineffective disposition. Although the dissent says it “do(es) not believe that § 3-101 is applicable to the facts here at all,” it seeks to use that section as the basis for distribution to the heirs of the deceased legatee.”

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

3. “It is her estate, not his, which we have before us. Secondly, it is the clear intention of the present statute that if a legatee has died testate prior to the death of a testator the legacy shall pass to the nominee of the deceased legatee. When this construction is applied, the legacy here to the husband would come back to the wife as his nominee. This is but one application of the lapsed legacy statute, not two.”

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