Holman v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 6 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “utterly inappropriate to the law of oil and gas. A survey of lease and assignment forms reveals no word relative to subleasing as distinguished from assignment. The oil business simply has no conception of the distinction. To read the cases is to be convinced that it receives an ex post facto use, utterly dissociated from any intent of the parties. The results which follow from it, particularly with regard to the transferee's nonliability to the lessor, seem impolitic, contrary to the general understanding of those engaged in the business, and at variance with the practice of the industry. Since the oil and gas lease is not really a lease anywhere, there is no compulsion to make the distinction.... I suggest that a court whose decisions have not already recognized this distinction should weigh the consequences carefully before adopting it.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Heiner v. S.J. Groves & Sons Co.

2. ““The same general rules that govern interpretation of contractual agreements apply to oil and gas leases. The construction of a written contract to determine its legal effect is a question of law for the court to decide, and on appeal, this Court will independently examine and construe the contract to determine if the trial court erred in its interpretation of it. Words in a contract are construed in their ordinary and popular sense, unless used by the parties in a technical sense or given a special meaning by the parties. We also construe contracts in light of existing statutes, which become part of and are read into the contract as if those provisions were included in it. A contract must be read and considered in its entirety so that all of its provisions are taken into consideration to determine the true intent of the parties.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Oil v. Riemer

3. “Furthermore, in the ordinary assignment case, it is doubtful if the assignor realizes that by reserving an overriding royalty interest in the transfer of the oil and gas lease the transaction could be classified as a sublease whereby he would be assuming all of the liability for the breach of the lease covenants by his as-signee.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Heiner v. S.J. Groves & Sons Co.