Anderson v. Dyer’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

23 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 24 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Although the bipartition of Sec. 516.-120(5) has not been recognized in the reported cases, the uniqueness of the composition of this section may not be properly ignored. The initial segment of Sec. 516.120(5) is simply a statute of limitations which imposes a five year limit on the commencement of actions brought for relief on the ground of fraud; the concluding portion constitutes a ten-year artificial lacuna fixed by the legislature on the accrual of the cause of action, i.e., fraud actions are deemed not to accrue during the ten-year suspension period until the discovery of the fraud. As a general rule, a cause of action accrues the moment the right to commence the action comes into existence and the statute of limitations starts to run from that time. In the instant matter, Early Lee’s right to set aside the divorce for fraud actually accrued when the decree was entered on June 23, 1958. However, for the purpose of determining when the five year statute of limitations would commence to run, the last part of Sec. 516.120(5) artifically deferred the accrual of Early Lee’s cause of action until she discovered the fraud at any time within ten years of its perpetration. If the fraud was not discovered or discoverable during the ten-year hiatus provided by the legislature, then the cause of action would be deemed to have accrued at the termination of such period and the statute of limitations would commence to run from that tíme, thereby permitting a maximum of fifteen years ”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Graf v. Michaels · State ex rel. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. v. Clymer

2. “[[Image here]] (5) An action for relief on the ground of fraud, the cause of action in such case to be deemed not to have accrued until the discovery by the aggrieved party, at any time within ten years, of the facts constituting the fraud.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Graf v. Michaels · Berry v. Dagley

3. “The imposition of Sec. 516.280 onto Sec. 516.120(5) would make the latter ineffective insofar as it undertakes to establish a particular period within which the fraud is deemed to have been discovered and the action to have accrued. Therefore, “(i)f the action is founded upon fraud, as provided in (Sec.516.120(5)), * * ⅜ it does not matter whether the party who has defrauded him does anything to prevent his discovery or not.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ellison v. Fry