Gruner v. Rice’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 federal appellate · 4 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is admitted that the word ‘heirs,’ in its technical sense, means those whom the law appoints to take intestate estate. The object of the construction of a will is to give effect to the intention of the testator where that intention is not in violation of any rule of law or public policy, and it has been held that the word ‘heirs’ may be construed to mean children where the context clearly indicates that such was the intention of the testator. Unless it appears from the whole instrument that the word ‘heirs’ was not used in its technical sense but was used to designate children it will be construed in its technical sense. There is not anything in the will, or any part of it, to indicate that the testator meant children by using the term ‘heirs’ and did not mean heirs in the technical sense. The intention of the testator in the use of the language of the will must be determined from the language itself, and not from any conjecture that the testator used the language to express an intention or meaning he had in his mind but which he did not express in the will.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 5 Wash. 2d 165 - Albee v. Bauer