SmartBrief
0
Confirm favorite deletion?
Civil Procedure Keyed to Babcock
Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Services, Inc.
Citation:
545 U.S. 546 (2005)
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Consolidation of two cases to resolve circuit split regarding amount in controversy in diversity jurisdiction cases. Some of the class members’ claims did not meet the amount in controversy requirement for diversity jurisdiction, but the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals allowed joinder of the claims and allowed the case to proceed so long as one of the claims met the amount in controversy requirement. The second case involved a young girl that sued Starkis for an injury she sustained when she cut herself on one of their cans. The girl attempted to join her parents as Plaintiffs but the district court held that none of the parties had damages that met the amount in controversy requirement. On appeal, the First Circuit found that the parents’ claims did not meet the requirement and therefore could not be joined, but that the girl’s claim was and could be brought on its own. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the circuit split.
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.
Topic Resources
Topic Videos 
1m 41s
8m 28s
7m 14s