West v. Bennett’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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. ““On what estate did. the homestead proceedings tak.e effect? On such estate as the debtor had in the land. That estate was purely equitable, and consisted of the right to redeem the legal title, on payment of the money as security for which he had passed that title to his creditor. When the right to redeem is in question, equitable principles are applied, and a deed, though absolute, will be treated as a mortgage. But thus dealing with it does not involve any concession that the legal title did not pass. It did pass, and tor that very reason the necessity arises for invoking principles of equity. This was so before the act of 1871 (Code 1873, §§ 1969, 1971) was passed, That act was not required for the mere purpose of enabling a debtor to pass the legal 1itle as security. It had further objects, one of which, as declared in seclion 1971 of the Code, was to prevent liens from attaching on the property while title was held by the vendee. Another object may have been to restrict the right of redemption to the time specified in the contract. Compliance with the contract ‘according to the terms’ thereof seems to have been contemplated. Perhaps, as the act originally stood, time was of the essence. Finally, it is not improbable that by virtue of the act the wife might bear some relation to the transaction under it which she would not boar to a similar transaction before the act was passed. Doubtless, she would bo allowed to redeem the same as her husband. But one or the other must ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. British & American Mortgage Co. v. Worrill