Thornton v. Thornton’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

42 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 42 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(A) The family court has exclusive jurisdiction: (17) To make all orders for support run until further order of the court, except that orders for child support run until the child is eighteen years of age or until the child is married or becomes self-supporting, as determined by the court, whichever occurs first or to provide for child support past the age of eighteen years if the child is in high school and is making satisfactory progress toward completion of high school, not to exceed the nineteenth birthday unless exceptional circumstances are found to exist or unless there is a preexisting agreement or order to provide for child support past the age of eighteen years.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. South Carolina Department of Social Services v. Polite · SCDSS Child Support Enforcement/Cindy Ruff v. Mangle

2. “Here, Husband was ordered in the 1982 divorce decree to make monthly payments of alimony and child support to Wife. That decree constituted the “judgment” ordering the periodic payments. The fact that Wife had to get a contempt order in 1994 because of Husband’s failure to meet his alimony and child support obligations does not mean the 1994 order was the first judgment ordering such payments. To alter the interest requirement in the way Husband suggests would reward Husband for failing to meet his obligations when they were due.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Edwards v. Campbell

3. “The decision to order retroactive support rests within the sound discretion of the family court and should not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion by the family court.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ables v. Gladden