Collins v. Gladden’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

13 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"* * * the standards laid down for our guidance in the review of damage findings leave much to be desired. In fact, from my study of the subject, I have concluded that there are no guidelines laid down for an appellate review of monetary awards in suits for damages involving personal injury and death or allowances for pain and suffering. * * * * * * * * * "The practice of comparing awards made in other cases is unsatisfactory for the obvious reason that no two cases are alike. The review of other decisions as a guide is likewise subject to the criticism that the appellate court has gone outside of the record and considered evidence, i.e., what other courts have awarded, when such evidence could not, under any theory, have been admissible for consideration by the jurors. "In the other permissive approach, consideration confined to the record in the particular case under review without recourse to prior decisions, the appellate court is without any definitive guide or rules prescribing the manner in which it determines the amount of the remittitur * * *. Under this method of review, the process is essentially one of subjective ratiocination by three judges who have not seen or heard a living witness with any knowledge of the facts. "This ad hoc determination is, of necessity, based primarily upon a visceral reaction to the whole case as affected by the idiosyncrasies of the reviewing judge at the time the determination is made. * * *."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Halliburton Company v. Olivas

2. “"There are two distinct lines of authority in Texas as to how both a trial court and an appellate court should determine the question as to excessiveness. Justice Norvell, while on the San Antonio Court of Civil Appeals, wrote the opinion in that frequently cited case, Kimbriel Produce Co. v. Webster, 185 S.W.2d 198 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio, 1944, error ref. w.o.m.), in which it is stated that precedents are helpful and of some value in determining whether damages awarded for similar personal injuries are excessive or inadequate, and that there should be some uniformity as to the amounts of verdicts and judgments in the various cases. See also, Bill Hendrix Auto Parts v. Blackburn, 433 S.W.2d 237 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston, 14th, 1968, no writ) and Coastal States Gas Producing Company v. Locker, 436 S.W.2d 592 (Tex.Civ.App.— Houston, 14th, 1968, no writ). * * * * * * "Other courts of civil appeals indicate in their decisions that each case must stand on its own facts and circumstances, and that comparison with other verdicts is of little or no help. Missouri Pacific Railroad Company v. Handley 341 S.W.2d 203 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio, 1960, no writ); Hayter Lumber Company v. Winder, 295 S.W.2d 730 (Tex.Civ.App.—Beaumont, 1956, error dism.). * * *."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Halliburton Company v. Olivas