Bakalar v. Vavra’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 1 district ·

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

1. “The district judge found that the Grunbaum heirs had failed to produce “any concrete evidence that the Nazis looted the drawing or that it was otherwise taken from Grunbaum.” Our reading of the record suggests that there may be such evidence, and that the district judge, by applying Swiss law, erred in placing the burden of proof on the Grunbaum heirs in this regard.... [If] the district judge determines that Vavra and Fischer have made a threshold showing that they have an arguable claim to the drawing, New York law places the burden on Bakalar, the current possessor, to prove that the drawing was not stolen. Moreover, should the district judge conclude that the Grunbaum heirs are entitled to prevail on the issue of the validity of Bakalar’s title to the drawing, the district judge should also address the issue of laches.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bakalar v. Vavra · 819 F. Supp. 2d 293 - BAKALAR v. Vavra

2. “[t]he tenuous interest of [Italy] created by these circumstances, however, must yield to the significantly greater interest of New York, as articulated in [ Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation v. ] Lubell [ 77 N.Y.2d 311 , 567 N.Y.S.2d 623 , 569 N.E.2d 426 (1991) ] and Elicofon , in preventing the state from becoming a marketplace for stolen goods.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Zuckerman v. Metro. Museum of Art

3. “We conclude that the district judge erred in holding that Swiss law, rather than New York law, applied here. Consequently, if, contrary to the holding of the district judge, the drawing was stolen or otherwise unlawfully taken from Gumbaum, that circumstance would affect the validity of Bakalar’s title.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bakalar v. Vavra