Cowell v. Stuart’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 4 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"The statute does not now require, as it did when the ease of Reynolds v. Page, 35 Cal. 296 , was decided, a certified copy of the complaint to be served with the summons, so that, when the clerk in the present case delivered to the plaintiff’s attorney a summons duly signed and sealed, he had performed every act it was essential for him to perform in the matter. The action was commenced by the filing of tho complaint (section 405, supra), and within a year thereafter the summons was issued by the officer charged by the law with the duty of issuing it, namely, the clerk. Under the statute in force when Reynolds v. Page, 35 Cal. 296 , was decided, it was essential to serve a copy of the complaint certified by the clerk, with a copy of tho summons, and for that reason the court held that the summons could not bo considered as Issued until the clerk had also issued that which the law made an essential accompaniment to constitute a valid service. But, as already observed, since the amendment of the statute of 1874, a certified copy of the complaint is no longer necessary, and, when the officer who is charged with the duty of issuing the summons has done all that the law requires him to do, we can see no ground for holding that the summons is not issued. The action being commenced and the summons issued within statutory time, the action may nevertheless be dismissed for an unreasonable delay in the service of process or other want of prosecution, when the circumstances of the case”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Perris Irr. Dist. v. Turnbull

2. ““Sec. 405. Civil actions in the courts of this state are commenced by filing a complaint. “Sec. 406. The clerk must indorse on the complaint the day, month, and year that it is filed, and at any time within one year thereafter, the plain till’ may have a summons issued, and if the action be brought against two or more defendants, who reside in different counties, may have a summons issued for each of such counties at the same time. But at any time within the year after the complaint is filed, the defendant may, in writing, or by appearing and answering or demurring, waive the issuing of summons; or, if the action he brought upon a joint contract of two or more defendants, and one of them has appeared within the year, the other or others may be served or appear after the year, at any time before trial.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Perris Irr. Dist. v. Turnbull