Contracts Keyed to Fuller
Academy Chicago Publishers v. Cheever
Facts
In 1987, Academy Chicago Publishers (Plaintiff) entered into an agreement with Mary Cheever (Defendant), the widow of published author John Cheever, to publish an anthology of John Cheever’s short stories. The agreement provided no specific requirements for delivery dates or numbers of stories or pages to be included in the anthology. Plaintiff collected and delivered approximately sixty short stories to Defendant and provided her with an advance to review the stories for inclusion in the anthology. Defendant then informed Plaintiff that she objected to publication of the book and attempted to return the advance. Plaintiffsued in circuit court in 1988 seeking a declaratory judgment. The trial court held that the agreement between Plaintiff and Defendant was a valid and enforceable contract; that Defendant could select the short stories; that Defendant could discharge her contractual obligations by selecting ten to fifteen short stories totaling at least one hundred forty pages; and that Plaintiff could publish the book in cooperation with Defendant. The appellate court reversed in part regarding control of the publication, but affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the agreement was valid and enforceable. The parties appealed to the Supreme Court of Illinois.
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.