Confirm favorite deletion?
Civil Procedure Keyed to Spencer
Olson v. Alick’s Drugs, Inc.
Facts
Donn Olson (Plaintiff) sued Alick’s Drugs, Inc. (Defendant) for discrimination in federal court in May 1998, alleging that Defendant fired him as a pharmacist due to a disability and his age. As the trial approached negotiations broke down. Plaintiff’s attorneys agreed to a settlement conference on November 12, 1999, without consulting him and Plaintiff did not attend due to work commitments. Plaintiff’s lawyers delayed in informing Defendant and the judge. Plaintiff’s attorneys moved to withdraw, which the judge granted. Defendant did not object to a requested continuance, but the court did not rule on the postponement, instead advising Plaintiff to attend the November 30 pretrial conference. Plaintiff was five minutes late to the conference due to a work emergency. Plaintiff tried to call Defendant’s attorney. Before Plaintiff’s arrival, the judge granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 16(f). The following day Plaintiff wrote a letter explaining his tardiness and absence from the earlier conference and moved to set aside the dismissal. Defendant treated Plaintiff’s motion as a FRCP 60(b) motion for relief from a judgment on the grounds of “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” On that basis, the court denied the motion, finding that Plaintiff had not demonstrated “excusable neglect nor hope for better performance in the future,” partially based on the erroneous ground that the Defendant had opposed postponing the trial. Plaintiff appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
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.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.