The Centennial’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 district ·

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 three-masted schooner Centennial sailed from Cardenas, bound to .Boston, on the 28th of May, .1879, with 800 hogsheads of muscovado sugar, of which the greater part was the property of the libelants. The cargo was properly stowed and well dunnaged. According to the log book, and all the evidence of the officers and crew, the pumps were tided every four hours, and the vessel made no water of any consequence until .Tune 3d. On that day, at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, there was no water in the hold. At 8 o’clock of the same evening there were 7½ feet of water there, and the ship was apparently in immediate danger of foundering. Both sets of pumps were worked all that night by all hands, and in 11 hours the water had been lowered 2 feet. After this, the crew being exhausted, they kept watch and watch, and the forward pumps alone were kept in .operation, and wore able to prevent any increase above the 5⅛ feet until the vessel arrived at Philadelphia, a port of necessity, on the 6th of June. Here the schooner was pumped out, and her cargo was discharged, and it was found that some of her seams and butts were slack. jSTo extraordinary injury was discovered. She was calked and reloaded, and brought her cargo to Boston, but it had already suffered the damage which the district court has found to be justly chargeable to the vessel.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bancroft-Whitney Co. v. The Queen

2. ““The libelant introduced evidence tending to show that ihc schooner was of a model and build unsuited to the heavy cargo of sugar which she undertook to carry, and that the calking of her seams had been neglected. The claimant met these allegations, and, upon the whole evidence, (he district judge was of opinion that the schooner was, in these particulars, sufficient and suitable for the voyage. I am of the same opinion. But behind this is the question how so much water came into the vessel without being discovered. The condition of the vessel, when she was examined, would not account for seven feet of water being found in the hold four hours after it had been pumped dry, or found to be dry.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bancroft-Whitney Co. v. The Queen

3. ““The duty of ascertaining the facts of this case is a difficult and delicate one. That a great loss has happened is certain, but its causes are so obscure that every possible theory offered to account for it is open to most plausible objection.’"”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bancroft-Whitney Co. v. The Queen