Sumrall v. Myles’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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. ““ * * * it is provided that the driver of a vehicle shall not drive to the left side of the center line of the highway in overtaking and passing another vehicle traveling in the same direction unless such left side is clearly visible and free from oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit such overtaking and passing to be made in perfect safety, and whenever an accident occurs under such circumstances, the responsibility therefor, rests prima facie upon the driver of the vehicle doing the overtaking or passing, * * *. There can be no question but what the defendant in this case, as reflected by the evidence herein, sought to overtake and pass a vehicle traveling in the same direction when he could not ascertain that the highway ahead was free from traffic in order to permit such overtaking and passing to be made in safety. “It may be added to the trial judge’s finding that in the case involved, the defendant was not attempting to overtake only one car but two cars at a time when he was only 30 or 40 feet behind the second car from the intersecting gravel road and when he was driving at a speed of some 55 miles, according to his own testimony. “It is our opinion that the defendant was bound to await the passing of the crest of a hill before attempting the overtaking of the slow driving automobiles ahead of him and that the sole proximate cause of the accident was his obvious conclusion that the two cars ahead of him would continue straight ahead and that there”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 236 So. 2d 837 - Dorty v. Zurich Insurance