11 canonical passages across 9 cases, quoted by 124 opinions in total. These passages cluster together because the same opinions keep quoting them side by side — they state parts of one doctrine. The anchor passage is from In Re BENNETT ESTATE.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In Re BENNETT ESTATE Anchor | green | “a finding is clearly erroneous when a reviewing court is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made, even if there is evidence to support the finding.” | 32 |
| 2 | National Waterworks, Inc v. International Fidelity & Surety, Ltd | green | “a party may not merely announce a position and leave it to this court to discover and rationalize the basis for the claim.” | 20 |
| 3 | In Re REISMAN ESTATE | green | “the rules of construction applicable to wills also apply to the interpretation of trust documents.” | 16 |
| 4 | In Re Temple Marital Trust | green | “appeals from a probate court decision are on the record, not de novo.” | 13 |
| 5 | In Re Temple Marital Trust | green | “chooses an outcome outside the range of reasonable and principled outcomes.” | 10 |
| 6 | In Re Erickson Estate | green | “the reviewing court will defer to the probate court on matters of credibility, and will give broad deference to findings made by the probate court because of its unique vantage point regarding witnesses, their testimony, and other influencing factors not readily available to the…” | 9 |
| 7 | In re Lundy Estate | green | “this court reviews the probate court's factual findings for clear error and its dispositional rulings for an abuse of discretion.” | 8 |
| 8 | Detroit Wabeek Bank & Trust Co. v. City of Adrian | green | “the rules of construction applicable to wills also apply to the interpretation of trust documents.” | 4 |
| 9 | In Re DUKE ESTATE | green | “a finding is clearly erroneous when a reviewing court is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made, even if there is evidence to support the finding.” | 4 |
| 10 | Menard, Inc v. City of Escanaba | green | “on appeal, in order for the appellant to receive relief, it has the burden to demonstrate that the lower court erred as governed by the relevant standard of review.” | 4 |
| 11 | In re Lundy Estate | green | “an appeal of a decision of the probate court, however, is on the record; it is not reviewed de novo.” | 4 |
A red or yellow flag on a member means the underlying case has negative treatment — for those, check the case page before relying on the passage.