Olsen v. Mading’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 12 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The landlord, though a volunteer in making the repairs, is liable, none the less, for negligence in making them. `It is ancient learning that one who assumes the act, even though gratuitously, may thereby become subject to the duty of acting carefully, if he acts at all. . . .' A landlord in these circumstances is not charged with liability on the basis of the nonperformance of a voluntary promise. He is charged with liability, because, having chosen to perform, he has thereby become subject to a duty in respect of the manner of performance . . . . There is a suggestion, . . . that to make the landlord liable, the negligent repairs must have aggravated the defect, so that what was dangerous before became more dangerous than ever. We cannot yield assent to this restriction of the field of duty. The tenant [849] does not have to prove that by the negligent making of the repairs what was wrong has been made worse. His case is made out when it appears that by reason of such negligence what was wrong is still wrong, though *Page 1068 prudence would have made it right .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bartlett v. Taylor

2. ““ . . . It is ancient learning that one who assumes to act, even though gratuitously, may thereby become subject to the duty of acting carefully, if he acts at all ..." 135 N.E. 275,276 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 24 Ariz. App. 233 - Barnum v. Rural Fire Protection Company