Baldwin v. Panetta’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In Ruiz de Molina v. Merritt & Furman Insurance Agency, Inc., 207 F.3d 1351 (11th Cir.2000), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit accurately summarized Alabama law concerning the recovery of mental-anguish damages for breach of a contract to build a residence: “ ‘Under Alabama law, “[d]amages for mental anguish can be recovered ... where the contractual duty or obligation is so coupled with matters of mental concern or solicitude, or with the feelings of the party to whom the duty is owed, that a breach of that duty will necessarily or reasonably result in mental anguish or suffering.” Liberty Homes, Inc. v. Epperson, 581 So.2d 449, 454 (Ala.1991) (quoting F. Becker Asphaltum Roofing Co. v. Murphy, 224 Ala. 655 , 141 So. 630, 631 (1932)).... “ ‘.... The majority of the cases in which a plaintiff has been allowed to recover damages for mental anguish involved actions on “contracts for the repair or construction of a house or dwelling or the delivery of utilities thereto, where the breach affected habitability.” See, e.g., Epperson, 581 So.2d at 454 ; Orkin Exterminating Co. v. Domaran, 519 So.2d 1330 (Ala.1988); Lawler Mobile Homes, Inc. v. Tarver, 492 So.2d 297 (Ala.1986); Alabama Power Co. v. Harmon, 483 So.2d 386 (Ala.1986). Because a person’s home is said to be his “castle” and the “largest single individual investment the average American family will make,” these contracts are “so coupled with matters of mental concern or solicitude or with the fee”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Brown v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. · TLIG Maintenance Services, Inc. v. Fialkowski

2. ““To prevail on a breach-of-contract claim, a plaintiff is required to prove ‘(1) the existence of a valid contract binding the parties in the action, (2) [the plaintiffs] own performance under that contract, (3) the defendant’s nonperformance, and (4) damages.’ Southern Med. Health Sys., Inc. v. Vaughn, 669 So.2d 98, 99 (Ala.1995).””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 57 So. 3d 111 - James v. City of Russellville

3. “most of the construction defects about which the owners complained were aesthetic.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Brown v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co.