71 N.C. App. 460 - Cannon v. Miller’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Unarguably, the integrity of the marriage relation and the preservation of marital harmony are interests deserving of judicial protection. Yet, we find general agreement among the authorities who have examined the issue that, on balance, the social harm engendered by the existence of these torts and the actual counter productive affect of the actions on a marriage outweigh the meritorious goals purportedly served by the actions. We find the reasons advanced by the majority of judicial authorities, commentators and state legislatures for the abolition of these actions to be well founded and convincing.... Apart from considerations of utility, we are persuaded that the very theory of recovery underlying [criminal conversations and alienation of affections] actions is without basis in contemporary society. The above actions have never fully shaken free from their property based origins, as evidenced by the fact that the consent of the participating spouse to the offending conduct, or even his or her initiation of it, will not bar the suit.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Hanover v. Ruch