Swaine v. Perine’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

27 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““How is the plaintiff [a dowress] to contribute ratably to discharge the mortgage debt? If she was to pay one-third of the debt and interest (exclusive of costs) paid by the defendant, together with interest on that one-third from the time the defendant paid it, there could be no •doubt that this would be, to the defendant, a satisfactory contribution. But the plaintiff has only a life interest in the dower, and payment of the entire one-third of that debt would be unjust. It would be making her pay for a life estate equally as if it was an estate in fee. The more accurate rule would appear to be that she should 'keep •down’ one-third of the interest -of the mortgage debt, by paying, during her life, to the defendant, the interest of one-third part of the aggregate amount of the principal and interest of the mortgage debt paid by the defendant, to be computed from the date of such payment. But, as it would be inconvenient and embarrassing to charge her with such annuity, then let the value of such annuity from the plaintiff (her age and health considered) be ascertained by one of the masters of this court, and be deducted from the amount of the rents and profits so coming to her; and, if that value should exceed the amount of the rents and profits so coming to her, that then the residue of such value be deducted from the dower to be assigned to her, out of the house and land mentioned' in the bill. The question is, if an estate in fee in one equal third part of the premises o”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hodges v. Phinney