Pouncy v. Garner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

24 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 24 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The question of whether or not appellant received an injury became a controverted issue of fact by appellee’s general denial. Proof of injury was therefore essential to appellant’s cause of action. Consequently, appellant had the burden of securing a favorable finding upon such issue. As stated, the jury answered the question in the negative. A negative answer to the issue, when properly interpreted, amounts to nothing more than a failure or a refusal by the jury to find from a preponderance of the evidence that appellant sustained an injury and means, in law, that appellant failed to discharge the burden of proving the fact. It does not mean that the jury found that she did not sustain an injury. It simply means that the jury was not persuaded by a preponderance of the evidence. In situations such as this where a jury returns a negative answer to an issue upon which the proponent has the burden of proof, the jury’s negative answer need not be supported by affirmative evidence. Therefore, it avails the complaining party nothing to assert that a negative answer is without support in the evidence or is not supported by factually sufficient evidence. Under these circumstances, the complaining party is placed in the position of having to contend that the evidence establishes an injury as a matter of law. (Emphasis added.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Blount v. Earhart

2. “"Appellant Pouncy is not seeking to recover a share of the estate of [his equitably adoptive parents]; instead, he is seeking to inherit the estate of Lula D. Dailey as her equitably adopted brother on the grounds that her parents were estopped to deny such adoption. Under adoption by estoppel, only the adoptive parents and their privies are estopped to deny the adoption. The estoppel to deny the adopted status does not operate or work against collateral kindred not in privity with the adoptive parents. A child adopted by estoppel does not inherit from collateral kindred, as there is no privity of estate between such kindred and the adoptive parents."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Board of Education v. Browning

3. “Thus, even if Pouncy had established that he was adopted under the estoppel doctrine ..., he would not inherit from Lula as her equitably adopted brother.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Board of Education v. Browning