Broussard v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 federal appellate · 1 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Conceivably the pollution of Potter’s Creek could have continued despite efforts to correct it which, though not meeting the standard of reasonableness, would have demonstrated that Atlas acted with at least some concern for the consequences to downstream property owners. If efforts were made, this record is silent about them. For years Atlas was in violation of its state permit and doing harm to the public waters and the property of others. Atlas shows no explanation or justification and apparently did nothing of any significance to meet the problem. The jury was entitled to conclude that Atlas made the business decision to continue the discharge of its waste and did so with conscious indifference to the rights of others. Therefore we have a proper basis for an award to this plaintiff of exemplary damages, (emphasis supplied)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Burk Royalty Co. v. Walls

2. “The holding in Atlas Chemical establishes that evidence of slight care will not always be enough to bar exemplary damages. Instead, in determining whether a defendant is liable for gross negligence, the question is whether, in light of all the surrounding circumstances, the defendant failed to exercise care, or exercised so slight a degree of care, that one can say the defendant was consciously indifferent to the interest of others. Id. at 1245 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Burk Royalty Co. v. Walls