SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Appellate Advocacy Keyed to Meador, 2nd Ed.
Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines Company
Citation:
385 F.3d 1324 (2004)Facts
Southwest Airlines created Southwest.com in 1996, becoming the first major American airline to establish a website. The site allows users to check fares, make reservations, and access special promotions. Robert Gumson, a blind individual, uses screen reader software to access the internet, but Southwest.com’s design (including unlabeled graphics, inadequately labeled data tables, and inaccessible online forms) made it virtually impossible for him to use the website. Consequently, Gumson could not access Southwest’s online services or special internet-only promotions. The plaintiffs filed suit claiming Southwest.com itself was a “place of public accommodation” under Title III of the ADA. The district court dismissed the case, finding that websites are not physical places of public accommodation covered by the ADA. On appeal, the plaintiffs abandoned their original argument and instead presented a new theory that Southwest Airlines as a whole is a “travel service” (a covered public accommodation) and that Southwest.com has a sufficient “nexus” to this physical travel service to be covered by Title III.
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.