Conwell v. Beatty’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 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 45 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “d. Extreme and outrageous conduct. The cases thus far decided have found liability only where the defendant’s conduct has been extreme and outrageous. It has not been enough that the defendant has acted with an intent which is tortious or even criminal, or that he has intended to inflict emotional distress, or even that his conduct has been characterized by “malice,” or a degree of aggravation which would entitle the plaintiff to punitive damages for another tort. Liability has been found only where the conduct has been so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community. Generally, the case is one in which the recitation of the facts to an average member of the community would arouse his resentment against the actor, and lead him to exclaim, “Outrageous!””

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bradley v. Hall · "F.B.C.", a Pseudonym v. MDWISE, INC., d/b/a MDWISE, MDWISE NETWORK, INC., and MDWISE MARKETPLACE, INC.

2. “[a] qualified privilege applies to communications made in good faith on any subject matter in which the party making the communication has an interest or in reference to which he had a duty, either public or private, either legal, moral, or social, if made to a person having a corresponding interest or duty. As a defense to defamation, the qualified privilege operates not to change the actionable quality of the words published, but merely to rebut the inference of malice that is otherwise imputed. To merit its protection, the burden is upon the defendant in the first instance to establish the existence of a privileged occasion for the publication, by proof of a recognized public or private interest which would justify the utterance of the words. Then the plaintiff has the burden of overcoming that privilege by showing that it has been abused. When speaking of abuse, the essence of the concept is not the speaker’s spite but his abuse of the privileged occasion by going beyond the scope of the purposes for which privilege exists. And unless only one conclusion can be drawn from the evidence, the question of whether the privilege has been abused is for the jury.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Tikidanke Bah v. Mac's Convenience Stores, LLC d/b/a Circle K and David Ruffin

3. “[T]he courts have found a deprivation of liberty when the employee was fired for a publicly announced reason that impugned his moral character. The concept of liberty in Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence has long included the liberty to follow a trade, profession or other calling. This liberty must not be confused with the right to a job; states have no constitutional duty to be employers of last resort; but if a state excludes a person from a trade or calling, it is depriving him of liberty, which it may not do without due process of law. And when a state fires an employee for stated reasons likely to make him all but unemployable in the future, by marking him as one who lost his job because of dishonesty or other job-related moral turpitude, the consequences are so nearly those of formally excluding him from his occupation that the law treats the state’s action the same way, and insists that due process be provided.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 163 F. Supp. 2d 1006 - Hensley v. Jasper Police Department