Rouchene v. Gamble Construction Co.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 78 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 82 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘Instructions on burden of proof should not state too many technical rules and, if an attempt is made to go into degrees of preponderance of evidence, it is almost certain to get the matter so complicated that a jury of laymen will have no idea.at all as to what is meant. “A short, simple instruction, tell-, ing the jury that the burden is on. plaintiff to prove his case by a preponderance or greater weight of'the credible evidence, and that unless he has done so the jury must find for defendant, ought to be sufficient to inform the jury what plaintiff is required to do. A plain declaration to that effect will be easily understood by a jury. The more the instruction is elaborated upon, the more complex it becomes and the more it is likely to be misunderstood.” [Citing case.] Certainly all that ought to he required, in addition to such a statement as to which party has this burden, should be a clear definition of preponderance of evidence, informing the jury that what is meant thereby is evidence which is more convincing to them as worthy of belief than that which is offered in opposition thereto.’ ””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mengel v. City of St. Louis · Blunk v. Snider

2. “It is an instruction upon the burden of proof, which recognizes that plaintiff is required `to prove the case by the greater weight or preponderance of the evidence,' and says that it is for the jury to determine `where the greater weight or preponderance lies,' but goes further and says that plaintiff is entitled to a verdict if `the evidence in this case preponderates in plaintiff's favor, although but slightly.' There may be some basis for such a statement found in the language of the court in Bauer Grocery Co. v. Sanders, 74 Mo. App. 657 , l.c. 660. [See, also, 1 Randall on Instructions, 488, sec. 252.] However, statements made in opinions arguendo are not meant to be used in instructions to juries and may be misleading rather than helpful when taken out of their context and put into an instruction. [See Geismann v. Missouri-Edison Electric Co., 173 Mo. 654 , 73 S.W. 654 ; Sanders v. City of Carthage, 330 Mo. 844 , 51 S.W.2d 529 .]”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Blunk v. Snider · Nelson v. Evans

3. “Negligence * * * depends upon surrounding circumstances, as well as upon the particular conduct involved, because an act or omission which would clearly be negligence under some circumstances might not be negligence under other circumstances and surroundings. Negligence is always a question for the jury '* * * where * * * different minds may reasonably draw different conclusions from”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Fortner v. St. Louis Public Service Co. · Kroger Company v. Helen Doane