83 Ill. 2d 82 - Schlessman v. Henson’s Empirical Analysis
1980
Citation profile
7 federal appellate · 3 district · 62 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 86 later decisions — most recently September 2025 · most notably 119 Ill. 2d 542 - Harris v. Walker (1988), 95 Ill. 2d 68 - McClure Engineering Associates, Inc. v. Reuben H. Donnelley Corp. (1983)
7 federal appellate · 3 district · 62 state decisions
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.
Relationships
Relies on Jackson v. First National Bank · 172 Ind. App. 389 - LaFrenz v. Lake County Fair Board · 8 Ill. App. 3d 682 - Morrow v. Auto Championship Racing Assn., Inc. · 81 Mich. App. 591 - Tope v. Waterford Hills Road Racing Corp. · 69 Ill. App. 3d 463 - Kubisen v. Chicago Health Clubs
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 86 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“"[A] myriad of factors, which are either obvious or unknown, may singly or in combination result in unexpected and freakish racing accidents. * * * The parties may not have contemplated the precise occurrence which resulted in plaintiff's accident, but this does not render the exculpatory clause inoperable. In adopting the broad language employed in the agreement, it seems reasonable to conclude that the parties contemplated the similarly broad range of accidents which occur in auto racing." Schlessman v. Henson, 83 Ill.2d 82, 86 , 46 Ill.Dec. 139 , 413 N.E.2d 1252 (1980).”
7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““The release in question was designed to encompass all claims against defendant based on its negligence, even though the precise cause of the accident may have been extraordinary. The very nature of the parties’ activity requires this result, absent contrary legislation.” (Emphasis added.) Schlessman, 83 Ill. 2d at 86 , 413 N.E.2d at 1254 .”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“`whether caused by the negligence of Releasees or otherwise'”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.