Lacks v. Wells.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘The general rule just considered that in the case of a carrier having exclusive control or occupation of its tracks and stations, one traveling may still retain the status of a passenger after alighting from the carrier’s vehicle, is from the nature of things not applicable to carriers not so situated, as for instance in the case of persons traveling on street railway cars. While a person attempting to alight from a street car remains a passenger until he has accomplished the act of alighting in safety, and the carrier owes to the passenger attempting to alight that very high degree of care and attention which the law puts upon it generally to the end of promoting the safety of its passengers, and will be liable for negligent injury to the passenger while so alighting, it is the generally accepted view that one who has alighted from a street car and is in safety upon the highway is no longer a passenger, but is thenceforth a traveler upon the highway, and subject to all the duties and obligations imposed upon such travelers, and the railway company is not responsible to him as a carrier for the condition of a street, or for his safe passage from the car to the sidewalk.’ ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 241 Mo. App. 1057 - Meyer v. St. Louis Public Service Co.

2. ““ * * * ‘the carrier is not the insurer of the safety of his passenger, who is held to exercise reasonable care for his own safety when in the act of alighting from the carrier’s conveyance.’ ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Swiastyn v. St. Joseph Light & Power Co.