Oliver v. Sanborn’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[I]t must be remembered that this plaintiff is not putting forward this claim of being an innocent purchaser in good faith, without notice, as a shield to protect a possession acquired, but as a sword to attack the possession and rights of others. It rests with him, therefore, to disprove every fact and circumstance put in evidence by the defendants from which notice may legitimately be inferred, or which justifies the inference that it was his duty to inquire as to Lyon’s ownership. He is chargeable with notice, not only where the evidence raises a presumption that he knew, but where there is just ground for inferring that reasonable diligence would have led him to a discovery of the truth: Warren v. Swett, 31 N.H. 332 ; Nute v. Nute, 41 N.H. 60 . “One who willfully remains ignorant where the rights of a third person are concerned, is as much in default as if he had the knowledge which he avoids. The question, therefore, is not merely did the ‘plaintiff’ know, but had he sufficient information to render it his duty to inquire, and would an investigation in the ordinary course of business have led to a discovery of the” title claimed by the opposite party; “or, as the rule is sometimes stated, a purchaser has notice, not only of what is definitely communicated to him, but of all that a proper use of that information would have enabled him to ascertain.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. v. Michigan Lithographing Co. (In Re Michigan Lithographing Co.)