Brinker v. Brinker’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

30 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 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ * * * The record does not disclose any showing of the time required, and of the kind and extent of the services of plaintiff’s counsel in preparing to sustain the allegations on the petition and in preparing to refute the allegations of defendant’s cross bill. The record encompasses the testimony of the trial (proper) of the action for divorce in a transcription of seventeen typewritten pages, and plaintiff testified she had been down to the counsel’s office ‘quite a number of times’ — this, even when considered in connection with the evidence relating to the financial condition of defendant, is indeed a meager showing upon which to determine if the trial court’s award of a sum of $1900 in attorney fees (additional to a former award of $100) was in the proper exercise of discretion. It may well be that the preparation of plaintiff’s case called for pre-trial conferences, for the taking of depositions, and for the interviewing of numerous witnesses; if so, and if the evidence of such services were shown in the record, we would be in a better position to determine the propriety of the trial court’s action in awarding additional fees. We are not in the situation as was the appellate court in the case of Burtrum v. Burtrum, supra, cited and relied upon by both appellant and respondent. But in that case the reviewing court was able to say the award of $1900 for ‘additional’ attorney fees was ‘moderate in amount and conservative’, ( 210 S.W.2d 373 ) but the transcript showed the ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Jeans v. Jeans

2. ““When a wife institutes an action of divorce and is without means to employ counsel, she is entitled to a reasonable allowance for attorney fees. * * * The amount of the allowance should be sufficient to prosecute the action, in an efficient manner, to a final hearing. Due regard should always be had to the character of the case, the legal services necessarily to be performed and the expense to be incurred, and such other circumstances which may tend to lessen or increase the expense of the litigation. Other than to ascertain if the action has been instituted in good faith, the court does not consider the merits of the case. Arnold v. Arnold, supra [Mo., 222 S.W. 996 ]; State ex rel. Gercke v. Seddon, 93 Mo. 520 , 6 S.W. 342 ; Burtrum v. Burtrum, Mo.App., 210 S.W.2d 364 ; 17 Am.Jur., Divorce and Separation, § 564, pp. 448-449.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Jeans v. Jeans