Confirm favorite deletion?
Contracts Keyed to Fuller
Darner Motor Sales v. Universal Underwriters
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. Review the Facts of this case here:
Darner Motors Sales (Plaintiff) purchased umbrella coverage and a “U-Drive” policy from Universal Underwriters (Defendant). The U-Drive policy insured Plaintiff and the lessees of its cars for liability risk of up to $100,000 for any one injury and $300,000 for all injuries arising out of one accident (100/300). Lessees were covered to $15,000 for one injury and $30,000 for all injuries to themselves (15/30). Plaintiff claimed that it had informed Defendant that its rental contracts specified a higher amount of insurance for lessees and that Defendant had assured it that injuries exceeding the lessee insurance would be covered under the “all-risk” clause of the umbrella policy. Plaintiff rented a car to Dwayne Crawford. The rental agreement specified 100/300 coverage. While driving the vehicle, Crawford negligently injured a pedestrian and caused severe injuries. The pedestrian sued Crawford, and Crawford made an insurance claim to Defendant, which stated that its coverage was limited to 15/30. When Crawford then sued Plaintiff under the terms of the rental agreement providing coverage of 100/300, Plaintiff called upon Defendant to provide coverage under the umbrella policy, but Defendant claimed that lessees were not parties “insured” under the policy, and declined to provide coverage in excess of 15/30. Plaintiff then filed a third party complaint, naming Defendant as a third party defendant. Plaintiff appealed the grant of summary judgment to Defendant.
- 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.