In re Kunkle’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 district ·

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

1. “The bankrupt contends that section 17a applies only to a case where the bankrupt himself obtained property for himself by such false pretenses or false representation, and that the intent and purpose of the act was not to permit him to retain such property as against the person defrauded, and at the same time secure through bankruptcy a discharge of the debt or liability arising out of the fraud. This seems to me to be begging the question. To- adopt the interpretation suggested by the bankrupt would be to rewrite the section so as to read: “A discharge in bankruptcy shall release a bankrupt from all his provable debts, except such as ... are liabilities for obtaining property [for himself] by false pretenses or false representation.” If that had been the intention of the congress, the act could have been so worded. There is no exception contained in or suggested by the act as to liabilities for obtaining property by false pretenses or false representation. It applies plainly to all such obtaining of property by the bankrupt, whether for himself or for anybody else. The rule of statutory construction is that, where the language of the statute is plain, it is not susceptible to interpretation, and the letter of the law will prevail, (emphasis added).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bates v. Winfree (In Re Winfree) · Simmons v. Wade (In Re Wade)