Sandfoss v. Jones’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 1 district · 32 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 37 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is well settled that where one purchases and pays for property with his own money, and takes the deed in the name of another, a trust by operation of law is raised, and the Statute of Frauds does not apply. . . . “If, however, we consider the averments of the complaint in the light which is most favorable to the defendants, we have a verbal agreement on their part with an execution debtor, whose land is about to be sold by the Sheriff, to purchase it with their own funds, and hold it for his benefit. Such an agreement is equivalent to a loan of the money and a taking of the title as security for its repayment; or an agreement by one person to purchase land for the benefit of another, under circumstances which would amount to a fraud upon the latter, if the former was allowed to repudiate his promise, and, therefore, not within the Statute of Frauds. “In relation to such a contract the High Court of Errors and Appeals of the State of Mississippi said: ‘It is not now an open question that when a party agrees before the sale to purchase property about to be sold under an execution against a party, and to give such party the benefit of the purchase, that the agreement is binding and will be enforced. The defendant, upon the faith of such an agreement, may have ceased his efforts to raise the money for the purpose of paying off the execution, and thus preventing a sale of his property. It will not do to say that the party promising was moved merely by friendly or benevolent co”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Webb v. Vercoe

2. ““So far as the contract relates to the sale of real estate, it amounts to an agreement on the part of Jones and Blanchard to buy the property at sheriff’s sale for the benefit of Bartram, who was the execution debtor, and to advance their own money, if necessary, for that purpose. Whether they paid for the real estate wholly or in part with Bartram’s money, or their own exclusively, is immaterial. In either event, their agreement was not within the Statute of Frauds, and was not, therefore, void because it was not in writing. If the real estate was paid for by Jones and Blanchard with the money of Bartram, there was a resulting trust in favor of the latter which a court of equity will declare and enforce, for such a trust is expressly excepted from the operation of the Statute of Frauds.- . . . “If, however, we consider the averments of the complaint in the light which is most favorable to the defendants, we have a verbal agreement on their part with an execution debtor, whose land is about to be sold by the sheriff, to purchase it with their own funds, and hold it for his benefit. Such an agreement is equivalent to a loan of the money and a taking of the title as security for its repayment; or an agreement by one person to purchase land for the benefit of another, under circumstances which would amount to a fraud upon the latter, if the former was allowed to repudiate his promise, and, therefore, not within the Statute of Frauds. ’ ’"”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 68 Cal. App. 121 - Braun v. Dallin