Dunlap v. Southerlin’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 47 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 48 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““A judgment rendered against a person not before the eourt would be void, and it is not perceived that a judgment against a defendant in court at (lie suit of named plaintiffs, upon a cause of action accruing to them alone, in favor of a person in no manner a party to the action, can stand upon any higher ground. Courts have no more power, until tlieir action is called into exercise by some kind of pleading, to render a judgment in favor of any person than they have to render judgment against a person until he has been brought within the jurisdiction of the court in some method recognized by law as sufficient: .and it never will be presumed, in the face of a record which shows that certain named plaintiffs were seeking and entitled to a judgment, that the court, rendered a judgment in favor of some person not shown to he before it seeking relief.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Middlesworth v. Houston Oil Co. of Texas

2. ““Every judgment, when ambiguous as to the party or parties in favor of or against whom it is rendered, must be read in the light of the entire record in the case, which, in the sense here used, embraces the pleadings.” Dunlap v. Southerlin, 63 Tex. 38 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Greene v. Elerding