Ross v. Housing Authority’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

39 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 41 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(1) [T]he link between the defendant’s property and the plaintiffs exposure to lead; (2) the link between the specific exposure to lead and the elevated blood lead levels, and (3) the link between those blood levels and the injuries allegedly suffered by the plaintiff. To be a substantial factor in causing Ms. Ross’ alleged injuries, the Payson Street home must have been a source of Ms. Ross’ exposure to lead, that exposure must have contributed to the elevated blood lead levels, and the associated increase in blood lead levels must have been substantial enough to contribute to her injuries.”

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Rowhouses, Inc. v. Smith · Hamilton v. Dackman

2. “[I]t may well be that, once the parties have marshaled the evidence without the expert opinion on source, it is clear which facts are disputed and which are not, and the limits of the inferences in plaintiff's favor are evident, summary judgment might still b.e warranted.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hamilton v. Dackman · Hamilton v. Kirson Alston v. 2700 Virginia

3. “In [Dow], a child and her mother sued their landlord for injuries the child allegedly suffered as a result of ingesting lead paint in their home. The discovery materials and an affidavit of the mother indicated that the home had been built prior to 1950 and thus likely had lead paint, that there was chipping and peeling paint in areas where the child played and that the child placed paint chips in her mouth, that the child spent most of her time in the home while she lived there and did not have contact with other sources of lead during that period, and that the child developed lead poisoning. The landlord in Dow moved for summary judgment, arguing that (1) the plaintiff had not identified an expert who would testify that there was lead paint on the premises and (2) there was no other direct evidence that the paint contained lead. As a result, the landlord argued, there was insufficient evidence to prove causation and the landlord was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The Court of Special Appeals rejected that argument and concluded that the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to generate a genuine issue of material fact and thus defeat the landlord’s motion for summary judgment. 144 Md.App. at 74-75 , 796 A.2d 139 . The court reasoned that it was not necessary for the plaintiff to prove causation by direct evidence; circumstantial evidence that “amounts to a reasonable likelihood or probability rather than a possibility” would suffice. Id. (quoting Peterson v. Unde”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hamilton v. Kirson Alston v. 2700 Virginia