The Farragut’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

31 federal appellate · 24 district · 3 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 87 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““But it would be against 'all reason to contend that the master or owners of a vessel should be made liable for the consequences of an accident by reason of not having a special lookout, where the collision or loss could not have been guarded against by a lookout, or where it is clear that the absence of a lookout had nothing to do in causing it. * * * We are not to shut our eyes and to accept blindly an artificial rule which is to determine in all cases whether the navigator is liable to the charge of negligence in causing any damage that may happen. A lookout is only one of the many precautions which a prudent navigator ought to provide; but it is not indispensable where, from the circumstances of the ease, a lookout could not possibly be of any service. The object of a lookout is to discover dangers that are unknown, the advance of an approaching vessel, the appearance of a light on the coast, the discovery of a dangerous object, and many other things, the existence and presence of which could not be so easily and quickly known to the pilot as to a person whose sole business it was to make and communicate such discoveries The cases referred to, taken in connection with the particular circumstances of each, cannot receive a different interpretation.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. The Pocomoke

2. ““But it would be against ail reason to contend that the master or owners of a vessel should be made liable for the consequences of an .accident by reason of not having a special lookout, where the collision or loss could not have been guarded against by a lookout, or where it is clear that the absence of a lookout had nothing to do in causing it. * * * We are not to shut our eyes and to accept blindly an artificial rule which -is to determine, in all cases, whether the navigator is liable to 'the charge .of negli gence in. cansing any loss or damage that may happen. A lookout is only one of the many precautions which a prudent navigator ought to provide, but it is not indispensable where, from the circumstances of the case, a lookout could not possibly be of any service. ⅜ * * It is perfectly evident that the absence of a special lookout had nothing at all to do with the happening of the accident, and therefore it can have nothing to do with fixing the liability of the parties.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Greenwood v. Town of Westport

3. “it would be against all reason to contend that the master or owners of a vessel should be made liable for the consequences of an accident by reason of not having a special lookout where the collision or loss could not have been guarded against by a lookout, or where it is clear that the absence of a lookout had nothing in causing it.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Inter-Cities Navigation Corp. v. United States