Stokes v. Cottrell’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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““We find no evidence of a repudiation or disclaimer of this permissive use preceding the filing- of the 2003 quiet-title action by the Alexander plaintiffs. The evidence establishes that the Alexander plaintiffs lived on parcel 1, maintaining only 3 to 4 acres of that 100-acre tract for their' personal use. They did not establish any fencing on the property or post any notices on the property to declare in any way that the property belonged to them. They did not notify the administrators or any other heir of Lar-enda Jenkins that they claimed the property as their own: “Additionally, the Alexander plaintiffs were aware that the taxes assessed against the property were paid by the administrators of Estelle’s estate and then-by Frank Stokes, Jr„ from 1962 up until at least the late 1990s and. possibly until 2003, when this quiet-title action was filed. The Alexander plaintiffs accepted that benefit and continued living on the land without cost until they decided to pursue a quiet-title action. “Further, the Alexander plaintiffs were aware that the administrator .was leasing the property to third parties and that those leases applied to all the property in Estelle’s estate. In fact, the two leases included in the record demonstrated the permissive nature of the Alexander plaintiffs’ use. Johnnie Mae Stokes granted third parties the right to farm, hunt, and fish on the property but reserved to the Alexander plaintiffs the right to hunt and fish on the property as well. This permi”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Stokes v. Cottrell

2. ““In addition, the plaintiffs used the property in whatever manner they pleased without accounting to anyone for their use of it and without paying rent. They lived on the property for several generations, maintained improvements on it, cultivated portions of it, drew water from it, kept domestic livestock on it, cut timber on it, cut firewood on it, hunted on it, fished on it, operated a business on it, and buried their dead on it. Until shortly before the trial of this case, a number of the plaintiffs believed themselves to be, and openly held themselves out to be, the grandchildren and heirs of Estelle Haggerty Alexander. “One could reasonably conclude from the evidence that the plaintiffs clearly and openly held themselves out to be the rightful owners of the property, not merely permissive users.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Stokes v. Cottrell

3. ““In 1965, Cottrell and Johnny Alexan- - der, Sr., filed a complaint, alleging that, during her lifetime,' Estelle had pur chased 100 acres of the land for their benefit and that, at the time of Estelle’s death, the property was being held in a constructive trust for them. Competing inferences may be drawn from the existence of the action and the fact that the 1965 action was dismissed for lack of prosecution. However, a finder of fact could reasonably conclude that the action manifested a disavowal of the record owner’s title sufficient-to notify the record owner that Cottrell and Johnny Sr. did not recognize the validity of the record owner’s title to at least 100 acres of the property.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Stokes v. Cottrell