Nicholson v. Herman’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. “Nicholson was attacked by indigenous wild animals in their natural habitat, in the normal course of their existence. The Smiths did nothing to cause the fire ants to act outside of their expected and normal behavior. Nicholson was not injured while in an artificial structure, nor was he injured where fire ants would not normally be found, nor was the presence of the fire ants due to any affirmative or negligent act of the Smiths bringing them upon the property or drawing them to the area where Nicholson was parked. In fact, Smith testified that he regularly attempted to kill or drive away the fire ants.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hanrahan v. Hometown America, LLC

2. “Under ordinary circumstances, Texas landowners do not have a duty to warn their guests about the presence and behavior patterns of every species of indigenous wild animals and plants which pose a potential threat to a person’s safety, as well as the extent of that threat. If a landowner was required to affirmatively disclose all risks caused by plants, animals, and insects on his or her property, the burden on the landowner would be enormous and would border on establishing an absolute liability.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Belhumeur v. Zilm

3. “We do not say a landowner can never be negligent with regard to the indige nous wild animals found on its property. A premises owner could be negligent with regard to wild animals found in artificial structures or places where they are not normally found; that is, stores, hotels, apartment houses, or billboards, if the landowner knows or should know of the unreasonable risk of harm posed by an animal on its premises, and cannot expect patrons to realize the danger or guard against it.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hanrahan v. Hometown America, LLC