Kennedy v. Silas Mason Co.’s Empirical Analysis
334 U.S. 249 · 1948
Citation profile
383 federal appellate · 36 district · 96 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 743 later decisions (25 by the Supreme Court) — most recently May 2025 · most notably Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. (1986), Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (1962)
383 federal appellate · 36 district · 96 state decisions — followed in 18 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Appellate journey
reviewedKennedy v. Silas Mason Co. (from Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Applies 29 U.S.C. § 201 · 41 U.S.C. § 35
Relies on Kennedy v. Silas Mason Co. · 70 F. Supp. 929 - Kennedy v. Silas Mason Co. · 68 F. Supp. 576 - Kennedy v. Silas Mason Co. · Brinegar v. United States
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 743 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“We consider it the part of good judicial administration to withhold decision of the ultimate questions involved in this case until this or another record shall present a more solid basis of findings based on litigation or on a comprehensive statement of agreed facts. While we might be able, on the present record, to reach a conclusion that would decide the case, it might well be found later to be lacking in the thoroughness that should precede judgment of this importance and which it is the purpose of the judicial process to provide.”
31 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence“Without intimating any conclusions on the merits, and, as stated previously, without implying that the plaintiff's proof as it now stands would warrant submission to a jury, we nevertheless conclude that it is the part of good judicial administration for the facts in this case to be more fully developed before the trial court determines that there is truly no genuine issue as to any material fact. Rule 56, Federal Rules Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence“in a sense, is no more than a nominal defendant, for it is entitled to reimbursement from the Government.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
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.