Labrier v. Anheuser Ford, Inc.’s Empirical Analysis
1981
Citation profile
7 federal appellate · 33 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 45 later decisions — most recently November 2010 · most notably Jasperson v. Purolator Courier Corp. (1985), American Business Interiors, Inc. v. Haworth, Inc. (1986)
7 federal appellate · 33 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Beggs v. Universal CIT Credit Corporation · Hoene v. Associated Dry Goods Corporation · Hanch v. K. F. C. National Management Corp. · Grubbs v. Cones · Schmidt v. Central Hardware Company
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 45 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[tjhere is no fixed relation between the amount of actual (nominal) damages and the amount of punitive damages awarded. Once the trial court decides as a matter of law that the issue of punitive damages should go to the jury, then the matter is purely and peculiarly one for the jury’s discretion and is not to be reversed except on a clear showing of abuse of discretion.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“(1) that on or about an approximate date the plaintiff was either refused employment or hindered in obtaining such employment; (2) that the refusal or hinderance was caused by the absence or inadequacy of the service letter; (3) that the position the plaintiff had difficulty obtaining was actually open; and (4) the salary rate of that position.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“Appellants argue that although respondent in his petition set out the reasons given for dismissal and alleged they were false, he did not aver the true reasons for discharge. Therefore, Labrier failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted. Appellants rely on Tolliver v. Standard Oil Co., 431 S.W.2d 159 (Mo.1968). In that case, plaintiffs alleged in their petition that the service letter did not state the true reason for. discharge. This Court concluded that the pleading failed to state facts showing that plaintiffs were entitled to relief and, therefore, did not meet the requirements of Rule 55.06. Subsequently, this Court noted, “In addition to stating and denying the reasons assigned by Standard, good pleading required that the plaintiffs allege facts regarding what they deemed to be the real reason for their dismissal. The petition is entirely silent on this latter vital subject.” Tolliver v. Standard Oil Co., supra, at 162 (emphasis added). Appellants cite this language to argue that the true reasons for discharge must be pled in order to state a cause of action. Their assertion is faulty. Since this Court had already determined that the pleading was merely a conclusion, the cited language constitutes dicta. Further, any inference from Tolliver that the only method of stating a cause of action in a service letter case is to aver the reasons given for discharge, deny them, and give the “facts regarding ... the real reason for ... discharge” is disapproved. Cert”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.