SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Dispute Resolution Keyed to Carbonneau, 8th Ed.
Green Tree Financial Corporation—Alabama v. Randolph
Citation:
531 U.S. 79, 121 S.Ct. 513, 148 L.Ed.2d 373 (2000)Facts
Larketta Randolph purchased a mobile home from Better Cents Home Builders and financed it through Green Tree Financial Corporation. The financing agreement included a mandatory arbitration clause requiring that all disputes be resolved through binding arbitration. The agreement did not specify who would be responsible for arbitration costs or what those costs might be. Randolph later sued Green Tree, alleging that they violated the Truth in Lending Act by failing to disclose the Vendor’s Single Interest insurance requirement as a finance charge. She also claimed that requiring arbitration of her statutory claims violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Green Tree moved to compel arbitration, which the District Court granted, dismissing all of Randolph’s claims with prejudice. Randolph appealed, arguing that she lacked resources to arbitrate and would have to forgo her claims against Green Tree. The Eleventh Circuit held that it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal and that the arbitration agreement was unenforceable because its silence on costs created a risk that Randolph would face prohibitive arbitration expenses.
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.