Cross v. Cross’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Failure of an appointment to satisfy formal requirements imposed by the donor does not cause the appointment to be ineffective in equity if (a) the appointment approximates the manner of appointment prescribed by the donor; and (b) the appointee is a wife, child, adopted child or creditor of the donee, or a charity, or a person who has paid value for the appointment.”

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Chamberlin v. Wong · Greenwood v. Peterson

2. ““No testamentary power of appointment herein granted shall be deemed to have been exercised effectively unless the Last Will and Testament of the person to whom such power is granted makes specific reference to the power and to this will.” 559 S.W.2d at 203 .”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. First National Bank of McMinn County v. Walker · Bank of Oklahoma, N.A. v. Atwood

3. ““Upon the basis of the foregoing authority and considering the specific language of the donor’s will in this case, this court holds that the intent of the donor in this will was to prevent an inadvertent exercise of the power of appointment and that she did not intend to create a rigid and unyielding limitation upon the exercise of the power.... So holding, this court emphasizes that persuasive in this case is the fact that the donor’s language as to the manner of execution of the power does not appear conjunctively with the grant of the power as it did in the Holzbaeh ease.... Also, a contrary position would require a literal interpretation of the will which thwarts the intention of the testator viewing the will as a whole.... Likewise of importance are the dispositive scheme of the donor’s will to make the property to all intents and purposes the property of Matthew, the broadness of the power created, and the fact that the gift in default is a generalized gift with no specific gift to identified persons. Other factual situations and other language might compel a contrary result, but on all of the facts and circumstances of this case, it seems clear that this court should hold that this language presents only a manifest intention to prevent an inadvertent exercise or to ease the burden of the executors in the distribution of her will if appropriate language had been used.” 559 S.W.2d at 208-209 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. First National Bank of McMinn County v. Walker