Johnson v. Britton’s Empirical Analysis
290 F.2d 355 · 1961
Citation profile
21 federal appellate ·
How this case has been cited
Cited by 25 later decisions — most recently September 1998 · most notably The Wilderness Society v. Rogers C. B. Morton, Secretary of the Interior (1973), Tri-State Terminals, Inc. v. Jesse (1979)
21 federal appellate ·
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
Applies 33 U.S.C. § 910
Relies on Hotel Employees Local No. 255 v. Leedom · Jacobson v. New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad · Baltimore & Ohio Railway Co. v. Jackson · Dennis v. United States · West Texas Utilities Co. v. National Labor Relations Board
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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“average annual earnings shall be such sum as . . . shall reasonably represent the annual earning capacity of the injured employee.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“To arrive at its proper meaning and application, section 10 ( 33 U.S.C.A. § 910 ) must be taken in its entirety and its true meaning be ascertained by giving due weight and consideration to all parts of the section in the light of the general aims and objects of the statute taken as a whole. The section does not provide that every case must be measured by subdivisions (a) or (b) if it be possible to force the transaction into the formulae which those subdivisions prescribe and that subdivision (c) is to be applied only to cases which cannot be measured by (a) or (b). On the contrary, it provides that subdivision (c) is to be employed whenever (a) or (b) cannot reasonably and fairly be applied. The numerous authorities disr cussed and cited by Judge Neterer in his opinion establish overwhelmingly that subdivisions (a) and (b) cannot be reasonably and fairly applied to an industry where employment is casual, irregular, seasonal, intermittent, and discontinuous. Surely it is not reasonable or fair to apply subdivisions (a) or (b) when to do so would result in ascertaining a mere theoretical earning capacity, having no regard to the actual facts of the case, but which would award arbitrarily to an injured laborer disability compensation in excess of what he was able to earn if at work, as shown by earnings, as in this case, covering a period of 3 years next preceding his injury. Compensation acts, to be within constitutional limits, must not be arbitrary, unreasonable, or fundame”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.