Shoemaker v. Houchen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

15 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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[t]hese possessory elements are further defined as follows: 1) Hostile means a possession antagonistic to claims of all others, with an intent to occupy as one’s own. Under the “hostile” element, even if the possessor mistakenly believed he had title and occupied the land as his own, the element is satisfied; i.e., he must intend to occupy as his own and there is no requirement for adverse possession that he be holding title to take away from a true owner. 2) “Open and Notorious is satisfied by visible acts of ownership exercised over the premises,” such as maintaining and improving the property. 3) Actual is determined by the nature and location of the property and a use by the possessor based upon and expected therefrom, including planting and mowing of grass. 4) Exclusive possession means the claimant holds the land for the claimant only and not for another, for example using the land as his or her own backyard and not allowing others to so use the property. 5) The ten years of possession must be consecutive years and need not be the ten years just prior to the filing of the law suit, but once the period has run, the possessor is vested with title and the record owner is divested.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lancaster v. Neff

2. ““To the extent a judgment goes beyond the issues presented and raised by the pleadings, it is void.”.... "Rule 55.33(b) ... provides that ‘[wjhen issues not raised by the parties are tried by express or implied consent of the parties, they shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings'.” The implied consent rule applies only when the presented evidence applies solely to a new issue and is not relevant to issues already present in the case. In summary, if evidence applying to a new issue is admitted, without a timely and specific objection, and the evidence is not relevant to issues already present, [the rule] treats the new issue as having been raised in the pleadings.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Willis v. Willis