Lake v. Lake’s Empirical Analysis
1947
Citation profile
35 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 37 later decisions — most recently February 2026 · most notably Commonwealth Ex Rel. Graham v. Graham (1951), Redwine v. Fitzhugh (1958)
35 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 Timanus v. Timanus · Urbach v. Urbach · Kenner v. Kenner · Dorman v. Friendly · Callahan v. Callahan
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 37 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““ * * * ‘It is generally recognized that the discretionary power of the court should be liberally exercised in furtherance of justice, to the end that cases may be disposed of upon their merits rather than upon technicalities or fortuitous circumstances.’ Freeman, supra [1 Freeman, Judgments] Sec. 292. 31 Am.Jur. 265, Sec. 715. * * *””
4 later decisions quote this exact passage““* * * The discretion above mentioned is an impartial discretion, guided and controlled in its exercise by fixed legal principles; it is a legal discretion to be exercised in conformity with the spirit of the law and in a manner to sub-serve and not to defeat the end of substantial justice, and for a manifest abuse thereof it is reviewable by the appellate jurisdiction. * * * ””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““ * * * The answer was. mailed in ample time so that if the mail had not been miscarried it would have reached the office of the Clerk of the District Court a day prior to the time that it was necessary to be filed. Judging the situation by reasonableness, Mr. Walton was not, we think, even though the mail is occasionally delayed, required to anticipate the fact that it would be delayed so long, * * Lake v. Lake, 63 Wyo. 375, 405 , 182 P.2d 824, 836 (1947).”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Bosler v. Morad
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.