Curry v. Texas Co.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

13 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is an important rule of construction that a written contract, plain and reflecting no shadow of doubt as to its meaning, shall be the sole evidence of the intention of the contracting parties. But, if the contract is not clearly unambiguous, the rule should not be permitted to defeat an intention and understanding which can be clearly proven by parol, and to lead to a conclusion which is absurd.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Coker v. Hughes · City of Houston v. Howe & Wise

2. “The use of the word “cents” indicates that more than a fraction of a cent and more than one cent was meant. The change from the common form of fractions to the decimal form suggests the probability that the scrivener started to write the equivalent of eight cents in decimal fractions of a dollar, and added the word “cents” by way of repetition. It is common knowledge that in the United States it is customary, in expressing a number of cents in figures, to indicate that sum by a decimal fraction of the unit of value, the dollar. Decimal fractions are seldom used in this country except to indicate fractions of a dollar, and then they are usually read as so many cents or so many mills, etc., rather than so many tenths, hundredths, thousandths, etc., of a dollar. For instance eight cents would likely be written $.08, and would be read as “eight cents” rather than as “eight one-hundredths of a dollar,” which latter would be strictly correct. The usual and customary way to write, in decimals, the monetary term equivalent to “eight one-hundredths of one cent” is to indicate the amount in decimal fractions of the dollar thus $.0008, which would be eight ten-thousandths of one dollar; or, if not written in decimals, then the usual way would be 8/100 of one cent. The cent is not a unit of value, and it is unusual to indicate fractions thereof in decimals.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Settlers Village Community Improvement Ass'n v. Settlers Village 5.6, Ltd.

3. “"Since the telegrams and letters are pleaded in haec verba, the petition, of necessity, must partake of whatever ambiguity exists therein, and in such case the pleader, by averment, must place some definite construction thereon, in order to cure the ambiguity and to support a judgment.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. City of Houston v. Howe & Wise