Potter v. McDowell’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 1 district · 11 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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “■‘The del'd of trust mail!' to secure these notes was not recorded until the XTih day of July, J808, more than three months after the property was at tacked. The plaintiff’s counsel insists that the attachment having been levied on the property before the deed of trust was recorded should take precedence of it; and we are asked to review the decisions of this court in the case of Davis v. Owenby, 14 Mo. 170 , 55 Am. Dec. 105 , and subsequent cases following the doctrine there laid down. In- the above-named case the court decided that a bona fide purchaser of real estate who has failed to record his deed until after a judgment is obtained against the vendor, but who records it before a sale under the judgment, will hold it against a purchaser under the judgment. This decision wag followed in the case of Valentine v. Havener, 20 Mo. 133 , Judge Scott dissenting, and in the ease of Stillwell v. McDonald, 39 Mo. 282 , when the principle was applied to a judgment and sale in a suit by attachment. These decisions involve a construction of our statute relating to the conveyance of real property, and I think the rule laid down by them is contrary to the spirit and intention of the statute; but it has been so long acquiesced in as ah established rule affecting the rights of property that it will not now be disturbed. It is more important that rules of law affecting the rights of property should be stable than wise.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Sturdivant Bank v. Schade