Burton v. Willen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““But it is said that the right of set-off is an equity, which, at all events, the original debtor may assert against the assignor, and also against his assignee of the debt whether he has or has not notice of its existence. If by an equity is meant a mere dictate of natural justice in a general sense, it is not worth while to discuss it, because this court is not called upon to administer a system of mere universal principles. If by an equity is meant a right which a court of equity ought to enforce, it remains to be proved that such an equity exists in the jurisprudence which this court is called upon to administer. The English court of chancery has as yet laid down no such general rule.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 34 Del. Ch. 184 - DuPont Bayard v. Martin