Rhine v. Ellen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

16 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 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ The action is not brought upon any express covenant or promise found in the instrument. The promise is implied by law from facts shown dehors the instrument and contrary to its express acknowledgment. ... In fact, the suit is not upon the conveyance at all. The whole agreement relied on for the recovery is outside of the conveyance, and that instrument is not offered as the contract sued on, but it is offered for a collateral purpose, as an item of evidence, to show a performance on his part. . . . The words of conveyance of land are the operative words of the contract, and constitute the contract itself. But the acknowledgment of payment of the consideration and of its amount are but the acknowledgment of the existence of facts. The former cannot be contradicted, but the latter may be shown to be otherwise than as acknowledged.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Brixen v. Jorgensen · Miller v. Edgerton

2. ““Another principle, and one more universal than the former in its application, is, that wherever a right is vested or created, or extinguished, by contract or otherwise, and a writing is employed for that purpose, parol testimony is inadmissible to alter or contradict the legal and common sense construction of the instrument; but that any writing which, neither by contract, the operation of law, nor otherwise, vests, or passes, or extinguishes any right, but is only used as evidence of a fact, and not as evidence of a contract or right, may be susceptible of explanation by extrinsic circumstances or facts Thus a will, a deed, or a covenant in writing, so far as they transfer or are intended to be the evidences of rights, cannot be contradicted or opposed in their legal construction by facts aliunde. But receipts and other writings which only acknowledge the existence of a simple fact, such as the payment of money, for example, may be susceptible of explanation and liable to contradiction by witnesses. “A party is estopped by his deed. He is not permitted to contradict it; so far as the deed is intended to pass a right, or to be the exclusive evidence of a contract, it concludes the parties to it. But the principle goes no further. A deed is not conclusive evidence of everything it may contain. For instance, it is not the only evidence of the date of its execution, nor is its omission of a consideration conclusive evidence that none passed; nor is its acknowledgment of a parti”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 98 Cal. App. 21 - First Federal Trust Co. v. Stockfleth