Bill v. Payne’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

19 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 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Conceding then that the testatrix intended to disinherit her sister, it must be remembered that she could only do that by effectively giving her property to others. That she attempted to do. That she failed was owing to events which occurred after making her will, — events for which she made no provision as she might have done. It frequently happens that legatees die during the lifetime of the testator. The testatrix could have provided for such a contingency by giving it to the survivors, or to other parties. She did neither. There is therefore some presumption that she intended that the law should settle the matter. That presumption is strengthened by the fact that she had an opportunity to change her will after one or more of the legatees had died, and failed to do so.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 29 Wash. 2d 230 - In Re the Estate of Searl · Peck v. Peck

2. ““It is suggested that the nephews and nieces, excluding the sister, may well enough take as a class. But that destroys the unity of the gift and makes a division of the devisees. We fail to discover that the testatrix had any such intention. She simply named the legatees, indicating in a general way the relation which each sustained to herself, and provided that her property should be equally divided among them. Thus each one took individually and not as a member of a class, as a tenant in common and not as a joint tenant.””

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