Confirm favorite deletion?
Civil Procedure Keyed to Friedenthal
State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Tashire
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
- Topic: Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.
- Parties: Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.
- Procedural Posture & History: Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.
- Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.: A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.
- Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises: Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
- Brief Facts: A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.
- Rule of Law: Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.
- Facts: What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case. Review the Facts of this case here:
An accident involving a Greyhound bus and a truck occurred in California. The accident resulted in one death and 33 injured persons. Four passengers filed suit in California against the bus driver (Nauta), Greyhound, the truck driver (Clark) and the owner of the truck (Glasgow) requesting damages in excess of $1,000,000. Clark’s insurer, State Farm, brought an interpleader action in federal court located in Oregon. State Farm alleged that it had a policy covering Clark that had a $20,000 limit. State Farm asked the court to order that all claimants establish their claims against Clark in that court alone and to discharge State Farm of all liability. State Farm joined Greyhound, Nauta, Clark and potential claimants as defendants. All defendants except for Greyhound, the claimants and State Farm were residents of Oregon. Jurisdiction was based on diversity and the Interpleader Act. A temporary restraining order was issued, and claimants filed for a change of venue to where the c ollision occurred. The TRO was expanded to require any actions against Nauta, Glasgow and Greyhound be instituted in the Oregon federal court. The claimants appealed and the Court of Appeals reversed. The Court of Appeals held that because Oregon state law does not allow direct actions against the insurer until the claim has been reduced to a judgment, the potential plaintiffs were not “claimants” and interpleader could not be maintained. State Farm appealed to the Supreme Court.
- Issue(s): Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.
- Holding: Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.
- Concurring / Dissenting Opinions: Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.
- Reasoning and Analysis: Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
- Policy: Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.
- Court Direction: Shares where the Court went from here for this case.