33 Va. App. 368 - Hering v. Hering’s Empirical Analysis
2000
Citation profile
20
cited by 20 later decisions
1
states following
December 2013
most recently cited
20 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Shiflet v. Eller · Paul v. Paul · Norris v. Mitchell · 4 Va. App. 173 - Fry v. Schwarting · Shoosmith v. Scott
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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[i]f the court accepts the agreement, its decree may merely approve, ratify or affirm the agreement, in whole or in part, without incorporating its provisions into the decree or ordering payment or compliance with its terms. In that situation, the decree merely constitutes judicial approval of a private bilateral contract, and the provisions of the support agreement do not have the full force and effect of a court's decree and are not enforceable by the court's contempt powers... .”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“[T]he parties' contract remained enforceable. The parties expressly provided that their agreement was to be "incorporated, but not merged" into any final decree. While ordering the parties to comply with the provision of the agreement, the final decree also expressly provided that the agreement was not merged. [Mr. Hering's] argument glosses over the effect of the parties' express provision that the agreement not be merged into the final decree. We are not at liberty to ignore a contractual provision specifically included by the parties. Our previous decisions and those of the Supreme Court of Virginia draw a distinction among those situations where an agreement is affirmed, where it is incorporated into a decree, or where, as here, the agreement is "affirmed, ratified, incorporated, but not merged" into the final decree.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“"`[w]here the circumstances are such that the agreement, although incorporated or approved in the decree, is not merged therein, the parties may enforce it by suing on the agreement rather than on the judgment.'" Where . . . the agreement was "incorporated but not merged" into the final decree, the agreement remained enforceable under either contract law or through the court's contempt power.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
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.