Civil Procedure Keyed to Subrin
Walker v. Armco Steel Corp
Facts
Walker, Plaintiff, and a resident of Oklahoma, was injured on August 22, 1975. Plaintiff filed a complaint against Armco Steel Corp., Defendant, a foreign corporation, in federal court based on diversity of citizenship on August 19, 1977. Service of process was not made on Defendant’s agent until December 1, 1977. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss because the statute of limitations had run by the time Defendant was served. Oklahoma state law states that the action is commenced for purposes of the limitation when the complaint is filed if Defendant is notified within 60 days of filing the complaint. The 60 day limit had expired by the time Defendant was served so the statute had run. Plaintiff argued that Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs the case. Rule 3 states: “[a] civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.” The District Court dismissed the complaint because the Oklahoma statute was “an integral part of the Oklahoma statute of li mitations” and under Ragan v. Merchants Transfer & Warehouse Co., 337 U.S. 530, 69 S.Ct. 1233, 93 L.Ed. 1520 (1949), state law must be applied. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
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.