Hunt v. Commissioner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “In this case, even if it be conceded that the individual members of the board of directors could have legally bound the corporation, it is not alleged by any witness that the agreement referred to was other than an agreement between the stockholders, those who were to receive the dividends, and it related to what they would do with their dividends and not to the manner in which the corporation would distribute the dividends. There is no evidence that the directors as such undertook to act for the corporation. The resolution declaring the dividend did not recognize any such agreement as having been made. It is true that the corporation may have acted and very likely did act upon the assumption that the stockholders, in accordance with the agreement among themselves, would purchase stock with their dividends, but this is not sufficient to change what was declared by the corporation to be a cash dividend to a stock dividend. The stockholders were not legally bound to take stock.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Smith v. Commissioner

2. “Whether, in any case, a dividend is a stock or cash dividend is a question of fact and the question must be decided upon the peculiar facts in each case.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Wright v. Commissioner