Melerine v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In determining a land owner's liability in negligence cases ..., the court must ascertain whether the land owner breached a legal duty imposed to protect against the particular risk involved. The plaintiff's status as a trespasser may have some bearing on the question of liability but is not determinative. Rather the proper test is whether the land owner acted as a reasonable man in view of the probability of injury to others in the management of his property.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 273 So. 3d 406 - Ferguson v. Am. Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co. · 643 So. 2d 797 - Wiggins on Behalf of Wiggins v. Ledet

2. “The school officials responsible for maintaining the State property admitted that it was dangerous for children to climb in the trees and that they unsuccessfully attempted to keep them out of the area many times prior to this accident. The presence of the wooden stair steps, platform, and rope in the tree created an unreasonable risk that unsupervised children would climb the tree and attempt to swing from the rope, and the State knew or should have known of this dangerous condition. The scope of the State’s duty to maintain its property encompassed the risk that a child ... might fall while playing on this rope swing. The State breached its duty by failing to remove the steps, platform, and rope to prevent this readily foreseeable accident. The school officials’ unsuccessful attempts to post signs and manually evict the boys from the area were insufficient to discharge this duty. Indeed, the State’s knowledge of the persistent problem put it on notice that stricter measures were necessary. There is an ease of association between the State’s duty and the injury in this case.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 688 So. 2d 1054 - Fontenot v. Fontenot

3. “[W]hether in the management of his property he has acted as a reasonable man in view of the probability of injury to others, and, although the plaintiff's status as a trespasser, licensee or invitee in light of the facts giving rise to such status have some bearing on the question of liability, the status is not determinative . (Emphasis added.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 273 So. 3d 406 - Ferguson v. Am. Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co.