Cunningham v. McNair’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Applying an ‘interest analysis’ test to this case, it is clear that the State of New York has the most significant relationship with the issues presented. Maryland, the situs of the accident, has no true involvement in this case since neither the owners, drivers or passengers of either vehicle were residents of Maryland nor was either vehicle registered in that State. Further, the State of Virginia has no genuine involvement in this case simply because the defendant Avis’ vehicle was registered there. The basic purpose of the fule enunciated in Babcock v. Jackson, supra, is eloquently expressed by Judge (later Chief Judge) Fuld in his quotation of Chief Judge Desmond’s statement in Kilberg v. Northeast Airlines, 9 N.Y.2d 34, 39 , 211 N.Y.S.2d 133 , 172 N.E.2d 526 : Modern conditions make it unjust and anomalous to subject the traveling citizen of this State to the varying laws of other States through and over which they move. . An air traveler from New York may in a flight of a few hours’ duration pass through . . commonwealths [limiting death damage awards]. His plane may meet with disaster in a State he never intended to cross but into which the plane has flown because of bad weather or other unexpected developments, or an airplane’s catastrophic descent may begin in one State and end in another. The place of injury becomes entirely fortuitous. Our courts should if possible provide protection for our own State’s people against unfair and anachronistic treatment of the laws”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Franklin v. Nelson Freightways, Inc.

2. “Section 388 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law has been interpreted by the New York courts to express “the policy that one injured by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle should have recourse to a financially responsible defendant” (citation omitted). It has also been ruled that when an analysis of the interests of competing jurisdictions indicates that New York has the predominant interest in the issue being litigated, this section of the Vehicle and Traffic Law will be applied to accidents which take place outside New York (citation omitted).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 652 F. Supp. 1056 - Boxer v. Gottlieb