Stuart v. Ford’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The amendment was intended to reduce and discourage appeals and subsequent technical reversals for errors in the form of judgments that could easily be corrected by bringing them to the attention of the trial judge. Observation has shown that there have been very few second appeals after the findings are made on remand despite what experience tells us are probably few changes on the merits in the new order. We suspect that this is so because often there was substantial evidence in the record to support findings in favor of the non-appealing party but, under our case law, we could not look to that evidence in the absence of findings. The situation before the amendment allowed a substantial waste of judicial time and even more importantly a waste of emotional and financial resources of the parties in appeals securing reversals but with no substantive changes in the court’s eventual judgment. Moreover, the then state of appellate review of these types of claims conflicted with the provisions of Rule 84.13(b), which states, “No appellate court shall reverse any judgment unless it finds that error was committed by the trial court against the appellant materially affecting the merits of the action” (emphasis omitted).”

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

2. “To establish a prima facie case of civil contempt, the complaining party must prove: “(1) the contemnor’s obligation to perform an action as required by the decree; and (2) the contemnor’s failure to meet the obligation.” Walters v. Walters, 181 S.W.3d 135, 138 (Mo.App.2005).... Where the proceeding for civil contempt arises from an alleged failure to comply with a judgment of dissolution, “ ‘the contemnor has the more ready access to any facts to excuse the default [ ]’ ” and therefore “bears the burden to prove that the non-compliance was not an act of contumacy.” Id. (quoting State ex rel. Watkins v. Watkins, 972 S.W.2d 609, 611 (Mo.App.1998)).”

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

3. “very conservative” approach. 6 . We were unable to compare the placement of the weight on the test trusses in the video with the placement as described by other testimony in the case for two reasons. First, Plaintiffs did not provide any specific page references to the transcript for the other testimony, as required by Rule 84.04(i). Second, and most important, Plaintiffs did not deposit the video exhibit with this court, as provided by Rule 81.16(a) and this Court’s Special Rule 4. When an exhibit is omitted from the transcript and is not deposited with the appellate court,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Simmons v. HEARTLAND WOOD PRODUCTS, INC.