business law case

FORMAT FOR CASE BRIEFING

1. NAME OF CASE

Put the name of the case at the top of the page so that you will be able to identify the correct brief.

2. FACTS

Include a brief statement of the facts of the case. This should include only the important facts. Ask yourself if a particular fact helped to determine the judge's decision. If the answer is yes, include that fact in your brief. Otherwise, omit it in order to keep the length of your brief reasonable.

3. ACTION

You should explain what type of lawsuit is involved in the case. Who are the parties to the lawsuit? What type of suit did the plaintiff bring?

4. ISSUE OR QUESTION OF LAW

This is a statement of the basic legal question that must be answered so that the court can determine which party should win the lawsuit. Sometimes the judge will state the issue in the opinion. In such a case the brief can quote the formulation of the issue directly from the opinion. In most cases you will need to write your own statement of the issue. The issue should be expressed in the form of a yes or no question. (The textbook we are using this semester states the issue of law for you in each case. You may copy the issue into your brief.)

5. RULE OF LAW

This is the legal principal which provides the answer to the question or issue of law. Sometimes the opinion will specifically state the rule; in other cases it will be necessary for you to find a statement of the rule in the discussion in the textbook.

6. REASONING

This statement should explain how the court reached its conclusion. The goal is to understand the case by explaining the reasoning through which the court reached its conclusion. You should briefly explain the arguments that the court made to support its decision.

7. CONCLUSION

Who won the lawsuit? You should indicate what the court's "bottom-line" decision was.

Here is a case opinion. A sample brief of this case appears following the opinion.

Supreme Court of the United States

Congress had imposed a duty of 10% on all imports of vegetables; no duty was imposed on imports of fruits. The Collector of Customs required the Plaintiff to pay 10% duty on tomatoes imported from the Caribbean. The Plaintiff sued for a refund of the amount he had paid. The trial court upheld the decision of the Collector and denied the Plaintiff’s request for a refund.

Mr. Justice GRAY delivered the opinion of the court.

The single question in this case is whether tomatoes are to be classed as 'vegetables' or as 'fruit,' within the meaning of the tariff act of 1883.

There being no evidence that the words 'fruit' and 'vegetables' have acquired any special meaning in trade or commerce, they must receive their ordinary meaning. Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert.

The attempt to class tomatoes as fruit is not unlike a recent attempt to class beans as seeds, of which Mr. Justice Bradley, speaking for this court, said: “We do not see why they should be classified as seeds, any more than walnuts should be so classified. Both are seeds, in the language of botany or natural history, but not in commerce nor in common parlance. On the other hand in speaking generally of provisions, beans may well be included under the term 'vegetables.' As an article of food on our tables, whether baked or boiled, or forming the basis of soup, they are used as a vegetable, as well when ripe as when green. This is the principal use to which they are put.” Robertson v. Salomon, 9 S. Sup. Ct. Rep. 559.

Judgment affirmed.

SAMPLE BRIEF

NAME OF CASE: Nix v. Heddon

FACTS: Congress imposed a duty of 10% on imported “vegetables”; no tariff was imposed on imports of “fruits”. The collector of customs required plaintiff to pay the 10% duty on imported tomatoes.

ACTION: Plaintiff sued the collector of customs to obtain a refund of the amount paid in duty on the imported tomatoes.

ISSUE OR QUESTION OF LAW: Are tomatoes a fruit?

RULE OF LAW: Tomatoes are not a fruit; they are a vegetable.

REASONING: Biologically, tomatoes are fruits. However in the ordinary language of people they are vegetables. When interpreting laws such as the tariff enacted by Congress, words are understood to have their ordinary meaning. Therefore tomatoes are legally vegetables rather than fruits.

CONCLUSION: The decision of the trial court was upheld; the plaintiff was not allowed to obtain a refund of the duty that had been paid when the tomatoes were imported.

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