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Civil Procedure Keyed to Yeazell
Matsushita Elec. Industrial Co. v. Epstein
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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:
The Defendant was the subject of two sets of lawsuits filed on behalf of MCA shareholders after Defendant acquired MCA. Both suits consisted primarily of class actions. One group of class actions alleged breach of federal securities laws. The second, filed in Delaware State Court, alleged breaches of various state law fiduciary responsibilities. The claims in the federal actions all fell within the federal courts’ exclusive jurisdiction. After the federal district court granted summary judgment to Defendant in the federal cases, but while those cases were on appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the parties to the Delaware action negotiated a global release of all claims arising out of the Matsushita-MCA acquisition. The Delaware court approved the settlement as fair. Later, Defendant asserted the judgment embodying the settlement as a bar to the federal action. The Ninth Circuit, before which the federal securities claims were pending, held that adjudication of the state claims could have had no preclusive effect on issues on the federal case. The Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) then granted certiorari.
- 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.