Leonard v. Maxwell’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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Much of the swearing required by our rules relating to pleas of privilege is somewhat incongruous. A lawyer may and usually does swear to the plea of privilege and the opposing lawyer swears to the controverting plea. They both swear to the truth of legal propositions and conclusions and to the existence of facts about which they have no personal knowledge.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Gonzales v. Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co. · Industrial State Bank of Houston v. Wylie

2. ““Plaintiff denies and here avers to be untrue and false, the following allegation of Defendant contained in such plea of privilege: That no exception to exclusive venue in the county of one’s residence, provided by law, exists in said cause. “Plaintiff was, and has been at all times germane to this suit, a resident of Longview, Gregg County, Texas. Defendant has had, at all times germane to this suit, an agent or representative in Gregg County, Texas. “On or about the 31st day of May, 1963, Defendant, Darr Equipment Company, through its agent located in Gladewater, Texas, entered into a contract in Gladewater, Texas with the International Equipment Leasing Corporation. Said contract was for the purchase of two D-8 Caterpillar Tractors, to be leased by Plaintiff, George Bane, Incorporated. The caterpillar tractors were at the time of entering into the aforementioned contract, and are now unfit for the purpose for which they were intended, to Plaintiff’s damage in excess of One Hundred thousand ($100,000) Dollars.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Darr Equipment Co. v. George P. Bane, Inc.

3. ““In the present case the Court of Civil Appeals has held that an unsworn plea may be amended and that the pleas subsequently filed were in effect amendments to the controverting plea filed within the ten-day period prescribed by the rules. The unsworn plea was not regarded as a nullity and the amendments thereto were held to be effective. “This Court is now seemingly in accord with the liberal view expressed by the Court of Civil Appeals that an unsworn plea is not a nullity but subject to amendment. "While I do not believe the Brashears case can be reconciled with the holding of the majority of the Court of Civil Appeals in this case, I would concur in a holding that any controverting plea, no matter how defective and whether sworn to or not, is subject to amendment so long as it may be ascertained from the wording of the plea that the plaintiff is asserting a right to maintain the suit where the same had been filed.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. M. C. Winters, Inc. v. Lawless