Denton v. Utley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 federal appellate · 35 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 49 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In the particular case before us, involving a release, we confront merely a specialized application of the overriding principle that in its accomplishment of its mission, equity will strike down without hesitation any agreement resulting from oppression, fraud, mutual mistake of the contracting parties, or other evil. The cases rest upon this great principle, not upon the minutiae urged. It matters not how sweeping are the words involved. When their content cloaks iniquity they shall be vacated and held for naught. To put it affirmatively, any release, to be sustained, must be ‘fairly and knowingly’ made. * * *””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Miller v. General Motors Corp. · Dansby v. Buck

2. “(1) The amount of consideration received compared with the risk of the existence of unknown injuries; (2) The presence of bargaining and negotiation leading to the settlement; (3) The closeness of the issue of liability; (4) Whether the subject of personal injuries was discussed; (5) The reasonableness of the contention that the injuries were in fact unknown at the time the release was executed; (6) The competence of the releasor and the equality of bargaining positions and relative intelligence of the contracting parties; (7) The haste, or lack thereof, with which the release was obtained, i.e., the length of the period between injury and settlement; (8) The amount of time elapsed between the settlement and the attempt to avoid the settlement; (9) The presence or absence of independent medical advice of releasor’s own choice before or at the time of settlement; (10) The presence or absence of legal counsel of the releasor’s own choice before or at the time of settlement; (11) Whether the injury subsequently. complained of by the releasor was an unknown injury at the time of signing or merely an unknown consequence of a known injury; (12) The language of the release itself; (13) The peculiar dignity and protection to which the law cloaks the human person, as contrasted with articles of commerce.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Indiana Bell Telephone Co. v. Mygrant

3. “The arguments against relief ... are not new. Nor is it new that they are framed in terms of the most fearful consequences to the then-existing social order.... ... Where once the courts were admonished, with respect to the law of trusts, to roil not the conscience lest any gentleman in England be presumed out of his entire estate, to disturb not the letter of the conveyance, lest all security transactions be jeopardized, now we are warned to leave untouched the letter of the release, lest no claim ever be settled, and litigations mount. The argument in terrorem fails here, as it has always failed, and for precisely the same reason: We exist solely to do justice and it shall be done.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 108 Wash. 2d 386 - Bennett v. Shinoda Floral, Inc.