Lawrence Ex Rel. Lawrence v. Risen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 1 district · 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “It is true that there are respectable authorities which appear to hold that punitive damages cannot be awarded when the actual injury is merely nominal. In our opinion, however, this view is not correct, and does not agree with a great weight of authority. The correct rule, we think, is that if a right of action exists; that is, if the plaintiff has suffered an injury for which compensatory damages might be awarded although nominal in amount, he may in a proper case recover punitive damages .... [T]he fact that the jury returned a verdict for punitive damages only, furnishes no just reason why the verdict should not be allowed to stand, since, under the rule in force in this State, punitive damages, when allowed, are given as compensation to the plaintiff and not solely as punishment of the defendant.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth Department of Agriculture v. Vinson

2. “[T]he argument that appellee’s failure to stop to render assistance is a separate claim for relief was not presented to the court below but rather appears for the first time at the appellate level. The Court of Appeals is one of review and is not to be approached as a second opportunity to be heard as a trial court. An issue not timely raised before the circuit court cannot be considered as a new argument before this Court.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Triplett v. Triplett