Munnelly v. Farrell’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The only question for present determination is whether the present action, one for injuries suffered by an employee prior to reorganization through the collapse of a scaffold in repair of a bridge over which the trains of the railroad company are operated, is within the excepted class. In a very broad sense every action against a railroad company wherein money damages are demanded is an action for “damages caused by the operation of trains, busses or other means of transportation”. The primary business of a railroad company is to operate trains, and all its activities are incidental to the operation of trains. The words of the proviso are not to be construed so broadly; nor on the other hand, should they be construed so narrowly as to defeat the. put pose of Congress in enacting the proviso. Congress doubtless had in mind the fact that the district court in charge of reorganization might be a long distance from the court in which an action for damages might be brought, and that the obtaining of consent of the court in charge of reorganization might be a hardship on a claimant. This is a factor in favor of a liberal interpretation of the proviso. There is no apparent reason for a distinction between the ease of a plaintiff who is struck by a moving train and the case of a plaintiff who was injured by the collapse of a scaffold while working as an employee of the railroad. I am of the opinion that the present case is one “for damages caused by the operation of trains, busses or”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Boylan v. Nash