Civil Procedure Keyed to Yeazell
Christian v. Mattel, Inc.
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
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- 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:
Attorney James Hicks brought suit on behalf of Harry Christian, claiming that Mattel’s Barbie dolls infringed Christian’s Claudene doll sculpture copyright. The District Court found that Plaintiff should have discovered prior to commencing the civil action that Defendant’s dolls could not have infringed Christian’s copyright because, among other things, the Defendant’s dolls had been created well prior to the Claudene doll and the Defendant’s dolls had clearly visible copyright notices on their heads. After determining that Plaintiff had behaved “boorishly” during discovery and had a lengthy rap sheet of prior litigation misconduct, the District Court imposed sanctions. The District Court ordered Plaintiff, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, to pay Defendant $501,565 in attorneys’ fees that it incurred in defending against what the District Court determined to be a frivolous action.
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- 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.
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- 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.