Transportation Co. v. Downer’s Empirical Analysis
78 U.S. 129 · 1870
Citation profile
41 federal appellate · 26 district · 45 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 168 later decisions (24 by the Supreme Court) — most recently August 1965 · most notably Liverpool & Great Western Steam Co. v. Phenix Insurance (1889), Schnell v. The Vallescura (1934)
41 federal appellate · 26 district · 45 state decisions — followed in 20 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
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 168 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““If the danger might have been thus avoided, it is plain that the loss should be attributed to the negligence arid inattention of the company, and it should be held liable, notwithstanding the exception in the bill of lading. The burden of establishing such negligence and inattention rested with the plaintiff, but the court refused an instruction to the jury to that effect, prayed by the defendant, and instructed them that it was the duty of the defendant to show that it had not been guilty of negligence. In this respect the court erred.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““On the trial the plaintiff made out a prima facie case by producing the bill of lading, showing the receipt of the coffee by the company at New York, and the contract for its transportation to Chicago, and by proving the arrival of the coffee at the latter place in the propeller Brooklyn in a ruined condition, and the consequent damages sustained. The company met this prima facie case by showing that the loss was occasioned by one of the dangers of lake navigation.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. The Medea“There must be reasonable evidence of negligence, but where the thing is shown to be under the management of the defendant or his servants, and the accident is such as in the ordinary course of things does not happen if those who have the management use proper care, it affords reasonable evidence, in the absence of explanation by the defendant, that the accident arose from want of care.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Saunders v. . R. R.
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.