Ames v. O'Malley’s Empirical Analysis

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

1. ““Pinpointing the issue does not in itself solve our difficulties. The valuation of an intangible asset as of a certain date is one of the most complex problems with which courts are forced to deal. * * * We can derive from the substantive law only formal definitions, so broad as to leave the close questions of meaning entangled with inquiries as to the relevance and the weight of evidence. For instance, the present Revenue Code provides that all property, except inventories, shall be appraised at ‘fair market value’. 26 U.S.C.A. § 113 (a) (1) to (22). The ambiguities of this definition of value become immediately apparent. What is the ‘market’ value is not always the ‘fair’ value, and vice versa. In many situations there is no market for the property in question. What test should govern then? The law tells us that fair market value is a question of fact and in determining * * * fair market value of stock in a corporation due regard should be given to the fair market value of the corporate assets on that date. * * * Let us assume that this standard removes all of the confusion as to exactly ‘what value’ we are searching for. The appraisal of the stock in question is still fraught with difficulty. ‘This is necessarily true because valuations involve economic prophecies based on a complex and highly controversial technique of inferences from the known to the unknown.’ ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 256 F. Supp. 913 - South Carolina National Bank v. McLeod