Bigelow v. Knight’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[A] plaintiff in a malpractice suit... must demonstrate that the defendant’s actions caused a legally cognizable injury. Becker v. Colonial Parking, Inc., 409 F.2d 1130, 1136-1137 (D.C.Cir.1969). The plaintiff must show, inter alia, that his attorney’s ‘negligence resulted in and was the proximate cause of the loss to the client.’ Niosi v. Aiello, 69 A.2d 57, 60 (D.C.Mun.App.1949). Thus an attorney is not liable for malpractice if his client has suffered no damages. In the instant case the plaintiff essentially alleges only vague and general failures of the defendant to locate and interview witnesses who would have ‘render[ed] suitable support for a defense.’ Plaintiff fails to identify what these witnesses would have testified to and how they would have supported a defense, which would have resulted in his acquittal. Accordingly, this Court rules that the plaintiff has failed to assert a legally cognizable harm which is an essential element of his claim and his complaint must be dismissed.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Mount v. Baron