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Property Keyed to Saxer
Service Oil Co. v. White
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*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:
Service Oil Company, Inc. (Plaintiff) is in the business of leasing service stations and then subleasing them to service station operators. Plaintiff began negotiating a lease with Howard I. White, Jr. (Defendant), who built and owned a vacant service station. Plaintiff visited the station for inspection and noted that the total distance between the rear of the station and the property line was 100 feet. It also found that the station pumps were located fifteen feet from the property line. Plaintiff agreed to lease the property and an agreement was drawn up. The lease described the premises, including the 100-foot distance noted by Plaintiff, and restricted Plaintiff’s use of the property to its use and occupation as a gas station. Defendant had his attorney look over the provisions before approving it. The parties signed the lease on March 21, 1973, and Plaintiff found an operator to sublease the station beginning June 1. In preparation for its opening, Plaintiff hired a contractor to install a canopy on the premises. The city, however, refused to issue a permit for a canopy. Upon investigation, Plaintiff learned that Defendant had previously conveyed the front ten feet of the leased property to the city. It also learned that, due to the conveyance, the pumps were only five feet away from the property line. At the time, city ordinances required the pumps to be at least ten feet away. Plaintiff expended $3,335.73 to move the pumps in compliance with the city ordinances. Plaintiff made a demand on Defendant for reimbursement. When Defendant refused, Plaintiffsued. After trial, the court found that the provision of the lease restricting the station’s use as a gas station constituted an implied guarantee that the premises was suited for use as a gas station. It also found that Defendant knew or should have known that Plaintiff could not operate the station legally without the front ten feet of the station, and that Defendant’s reckless misrepresentations were actionable for damages. The court then held in favor of Plaintiff and granted a $3,957.35 judgment for actual damages and $1,500.00 judgment for punitive damages.
- 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.