Westbrook v. Middlecoff’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 12 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “‘ ‘ The council was invested with the power to contract through a committee, just as was done. That is not disputed, but it is contended that no appropriation for the erection of the building by the annual appropriation ordinance of 1899 having been made, and no appropriation having been sanctioned by a majority of the legal voters of the city, either by petition or by vote at an election, the council was prohibited by the statute from entering into any contract creating any liability, or paying out any of the funds of the city for or on account of the construction of the building, and that the resolution directing the clerk to issue a warrant in favor of Middleeoff for the sum already paid out by him is void. “While courts should maintain with vigor the limitations which the statute has placed upon corporate action, whenever it is a question of restraining a city council in advance from passing beyond the bounds of statutory requirement, they should, on the other hand, enforce against the city contracts of which it has received the benefit, if the subject-matter of the contract falls within the charter powers of the city. Where the statute authorizes a municipal corporation to exercise a certain power, but specifically regulates the mode in which it may be exercised, an attempt on the part of the municipal officers to override the regulations and exercise it in another manner will be restrained. But when the officers have so acted, and the municipality has received the benef”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Wykes v. City Water Co. of Santa Cruz · 232 Ill. App. 135 - De Kam v. City of Streator

2. ““This is a suit in equity. In a court of equity the doctrine of estoppel finds its widest field, and when we take into consideration all the facts and circumstances of this case, the honest expenditure of the money, the benefits from it received by the city and the attitude of these appellants, there is, to our minds, presented an appropriate case for an application of the doctrine.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 232 Ill. App. 135 - De Kam v. City of Streator