McCourt v. Algiers’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 federal appellate · 4 district · 18 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 52 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Defendants contend that they cannot be concluded by the federal court determination in this action by McCourt, because McCourt would not have been concluded had the federal court found her negligent and Algiers not negligent, and the rule must work both ways, both parties being concluded or neither. “Such mutuality is not universally required in the operation of res judicata. Good Health Dairy Products Corp. v. Emery, 275 N.Y. 14,17 , 9 N.E.2d 758 . “ ‘This desirability for equality between litigating parties with reference to the rules of res judicata is not, however, of pervading importance and disappears when there are countervailing reasons for requiring one to be bound while the other is not.’ Restatement, Judgments, p. 473, sec. 96, comment a. “Here such countervailing reasons are present. McCourt would not have been concluded by a determination adverse to her, because she was not in court and had no opportunity to present her casé. Algiers and his insurer are concluded because they had full opportunity to litigate the material issues with McCourt’s insurer in the federal court, and did so, Algiers voluntarily choosing that forum to assert his own claim. It would be unfair to bind McCourt; there is no unfairness in binding Algiers and his insurer. See Restatement, Judgments, p. 472, sec. 96(1) (b), and comment a, pp. 473, 474.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gorski v. Commercial Insurance Co. of Newark, NJ

2. ““While McCourt was not in privity with her insurer Northwestern in the strict sense of that term, nevertheless there was a close relationship between them with respect to the negligence issues in the federal court. Any potential liability of Northwestern was wholly derived from McCourt and based upon her conduct. Algiers asserted his claim against Northwestern because Northwestern was her insurer, and founded the claim on the premise that she had been negligent. In defending against the claims of Rude and Algiers, Northwestern was in a sense representing McCourt. With respect to the negligence issues it stood in her shoes.” Id. at page 611.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 72 Wis. 2d 170 - Hernke v. Coronet Insurance

3. “"`Where a question of fact essential to the judgment is actually litigated and determined by a valid and final judgment, the determination is conclusive between the parties in a subsequent action on a different cause of action.'" Quoting Restatement, Judgments, p. 293, sec. 68(1).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 137 Wis. 2d 375 - In Re Custody of DMM