Portee v. Jaffee’s Empirical Analysis
1980
Citation profile
6 federal appellate · 39 district · 269 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 323 later decisions — most recently August 2018 · most notably 48 Cal. 3d 644 - Thing v. La Chusa (1989), Clohessy v. Bachelor (1996)
6 federal appellate · 39 district · 269 state decisions — followed in 18 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.
Relationships
Relies on Palsgraf v. Long Island R.R. Co. · Dillon v. Legg · Judson v. Peoples Bank & Trust Co. of Westfield · Sinn v. Burd · Goldberg v. Housing Auth. of City of Newark
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 323 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“(1) the death or serious physical injury of another caused by defendant's negligence; (2) a marital or intimate, familial relationship between plaintiff and the injured person; (3) observation of the death or injury at the scene of the accident; and (4) resulting severe emotional distress.”
29 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“[T]he interest assertedly injured is more than a general interest in emotional tranquility. It is the profound and abiding sentiment of parental love. The knowledge that loved ones are safe and whole is the deepest wellspring of emotional welfare. Against that reassuring background, the flashes of anxiety and disappointment that mar our lives take on safer hues. No loss is greater than the loss of a loved one, and no tragedy is more wrenching than the helpless apprehension of the death or serious injury of one whose very existence is a precious treasure.”
17 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“either death or this type of serious injury is necessary to permit recovery”
8 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.