Colcott v. Sutherland’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 3 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The parties having thus agreed, what is the effect of the omission to stipulate the price for a repurchase? Ap pellee contends that it results in incompleteness and uncertainty fatal to the remedy of specific performance. Appellant says there is no incompleteness or uncertainty, since the law’s implication binds the parties to á reasonable price, and equity has means to determine it. This may be entirely 'sound. Pomeroy’s Specific Performance (3d Ed.) § 148. We base decision, however, on other principles. We assume, but do not decide, that this is not such an option as equity would specifically enforce. Fry on Specific Performance (6th Ed.) § 353 et seq.; Pomeroy, § 148 et seq.; 36 Cyc. 595. “But this is not a suit for specific performance of the option. The contingency may never arise upon which appellee’s right to repurchase is made to rest. If the contingency should arise, he may or may not desire to exercise the option. An option to repurchase is not an essential or usual condition of a contract between vendor and purchaser. When included, it is merely an incident of the particular contract. It is a subsidiary, if not a collateral, matter. As to such matters, even when entering into the price to be paid, equity is not so reluctant to resolve the uncertainty, to clear the way for specific performance. Fry, § 365 et seq.; Pomeroy, § 151.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hammond v. Ringstad · Beaver v. Brumlow