Willard v. Carrigan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is often difficult to tell in advance whether the evidence will reveal an express contract or an implied contract. Services may be rendered, and the fact of their having been rendered and received is undeniable. The question of price is but the one thing to be determined. That question may depend upon a contract, or, in the absence of a contract, depend upon value. The plaintiff may conceive that he has a contract, and so allege it. The defendant may conceive that there was no contract, and that the value was less than that which was alleged by the plaintiff to be the contract price. In such case it would not be right nor equitable for the plaintiff to lose his claim because he failed to prove his contract, although he had rendered his services. Therefore he must be allowed to plead it in different ways, and not run the' hazard of losing his claim by being compelled to elect upon which class of evidence he must rely. It is plain that he has but one cause of action. In a review of the evidence in this case the condition of the evidence reveals just such a condition, and the trial court committed no error when it refused to require the plaintiff to elect upon which class of evidence he would go to trial. The court found that the defendants made and entered into an oral contract; and, not finding upon the second count as to the value of the services, following the decisions of other courts, it is a finding of fact against the plaintiff upon the second count, or, as counsel t”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Wright v. Burhart