Finance Security Co. v. Williams’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The defense of Smit and Dillard on the merits is based solely on their alleged invalidity of the act of chattel mortgage by which the note sued on is secured. But the liability herein sought to ■ be imposed on them does not arise out of the act of mortgage itself. Their liability, if any, is purely statutory and came into existence by virtue of the provisions of Section 8 of Act No. 172 of 1944 which required them, in purchasing the automobile from Williams, to obtain an affidavit from him that (1) there' was no mortgage on it and (2) no money due for its purchase price. Had they procured such an affidavit they would have been protected and would have incurred no liability that may have resulted from their having purchased mortgaged movable property. They failed to obtain the required affidavit and under the law they became liable. Their .counsel virtually concedes this because in his brief he states: ‘Plaintiff’s action against J. W. Williams is based on a contract, viz., promissory note and chattel mortgage, plaintiff’s action against defendant, Smit and Dillard, is based on the failure of your defendant to obtain an affidavit as required by'the Chattel Mortgage Law.’ “It strikes us, therefore, that the validity vel non of the act of chattel mortgage is no concern of theirs. In the case of Southland Securities Co. v. Thieme, La.App., 142 So. 375 , the defendant was sued under a provision of the chattel mortgage law in existence at the time, Act No. 198 of 1918, similar to ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Harris Finance Corp. v. Fridge

2. “became liable for the same thing that Williams was liable, that is the whole debt that was due Finance Security Co., Inc., by Williams. Each of them, Williams, Smit and Dillard would be made to pay that whole debt and payment by anyone would exonerate the others.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Marshall National Bank Jl v. Norwel Equipment Company