Wingate v. Hajdik’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 60 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 78 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Ordinarily, the cause of action for injury to the property of a corporation, or the impairment or destruction of its business, is vested in the corporation, as distinguished from its stockholders, even though it may result indirectly in loss of earnings to the stockholders. Generally, the individual stockholders have no separate and independent right of action for injuries suffered by the corporation which merely result in the depreciation of their stock. This rule is based on the principle that where such an injury occurs each shareholder suffers relatively in proportion to the number of shares he owns, and each will be made whole if the corporation obtains restitution or compensation from the wrongdoer. Such action must be brought by the corporation, not alone to avoid a multiplicity of suits by the various stockholders and to bar a subsequent suit by the corporation, but in order that the damages so recovered may be available for the payment of the corporation’s creditors, and for proportional distributions to the stock holders as dividends, or for such other purposes as the directors may lawfully determine.”

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mason v. Federal Deposit Insurance · Perry v. Cohen

2. “where the wrongdoer violates a duty arising from contract or otherwise, and owing directly by him to the stockholder.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Gannon v. Baker