alt Hacker NewsI don't think that common law doctrine applies here though. The facts of any particular case always apply to that specific case no matter what the system. It is the application of the law to those facts which is where they differ, and in common law systems lower courts almost never break new ground in terms of the law. Judges almost always have precedent, and following that is the "legally correct" outcome.
Choice-of-law is also generally a statutory issue, so common law is not generally a factor - if every case ever decided was contrary to the statute, the statute would still be correct.