Contracts Keyed to Farnsworth
Eastern Air Lines, Inc. v. Gulf Oil Corporation
Facts
The parties entered into an agreement for the Defendant to provide the Plaintiff with jet fuel in certain specified cities. To set prices, the parties utilized an “indicator” that is bought and sold in large volume and was therefore a reliable gauge of market value of crude oil. The price of said indicator was determined, according to the contract, by reference to the prices listed in Platts Oilgram Service – Crude Oil Supplement (Platts). Subsequent to the entering into of the agreement, the government implemented certain price controls referred to as “two-tier.” In short, the effect of the “two-tier” controls is that Platts discontinued publishing the posted prices of oil not subject to government controls. Rather, only the “old” oil prices, i.e. prices subject to government controls, were published in Platts. Therefore, in order to comply with the unambiguous terms of the contract, the Defendant was required to sell at the prices published in Platts that were controlled by the government. This meant that the Defendant was forced to sell at a much thinner profit margin since the price they could receive was artificially low, but their costs remained high due to dependence on foreign crude oil not subject to price controls.
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.