Corporations Keyed to Klein
Zahn v. Transamerica Corp
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:
A-F was a tobacco company that had as its principal asset leaf tobacco which they bought in late 1942 and early 1943 for $6,361,981. By April of 1943 the value of the tobacco was about $20 million. Defendant, a holding company, was the majority shareholder which entitled them to control nearly every aspect of A-F’s operations. Defendant converted all of their Class A stocks to class B stocks, and then called for a redemption of outstanding Class A stocks at $80.80 per share. The company’s charter allowed for the redemption, but the timing of it was suspicious because right after the redemption Defendant liquidated A-F. As a result, owners of Class A shares lost out on what Plaintiff valued to be a $240 per share return. Plaintiff redeemed some Class A shares, so Plaintiff sought equitable relief to turn in outstanding shares at $240 per share and sought the difference between the $80.80 and $240 for the redeemed shares. Defendant argued that they followed the corporate c harter when they voted for the redemption.
- 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.