Confirm favorite deletion?
Securities Regulation Keyed to Coffee
Mastrobuono v. Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc.
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 professional couple, the Mastrobuonos (Plaintiff), invested with respondent Shearson from 1985-87. Two years later, petitioners brought suit in district court alleging that Shearson had mishandled their funds. Following the rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers, the client contract contained provisions for arbitration, and Shearson petitioned to stay the proceedings. The court granted the motion, and in arbitration Shearson was held liable for a few hundred thousand in punitive damages. Shearson alleged that the client contract had a choice of law provision for New York that only allowed punitive damage awards in judicial tribunals, not arbitration, and so arbiters had no power to award punitive damages. The award was vacated by the district court for this reason, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to rectify conflicts within those circuits.
- 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.