Herring v. Swain’s Empirical Analysis
1892
Citation profile
43 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 43 later decisions — most recently April 1970 · most notably Taylor v. Higgins Oil & Fuel Co. (1928), Investors' Utility Corp. v. Challacombe (1931)
43 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.
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 43 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““The sole complaint in this court is that the court erred in. adjudging the costs against the plaintiff. The contention is, that because the defendant pleaded not guilty to the petition, without qualification, he put the plaintiff upon proof of his title to the entire tract of land claimed by him, and that therefore he should recover his costs. It is insisted that the disclaimer did not qualify or abridge the operation of the former plea. This should perhaps be treated more as a practical question than one capable of being decided upon any well defined rule of technical pleading. But even upon technical grounds, the position assumed can hardly be maintained. Under our system which permits the pleading of inconsistent defenses, the general issue will put the plaintiff upon proof of all the facts necessary to make out his case, although one or more of them may be admitted in. a special answer. But a disclaimer, as it is known in equity pleading, is not deemed an answer (Story Eq. Plead. § 838 et seq.), and it is certainly not a defensive plea. It is an admission upon the record of the plaintiff’s right, and a denial of the assertion of title on part of the defendant. If, therefore, _ a defendant in the action of trespass to try title should plead not guilty, and at the same time should file a disclaimer as to the entire tract of land sued for by the plaintiff, it would seem that the plea should be disregarded and that the plaintiff shouid have judgment for the land, unless dama”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Youree v. Bradley“It is an admission upon the record of the plaintiff's right, and a denial of the assertion of title on the part of the defendant.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
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.