SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Products Liability Keyed to Fischer, 6th Ed.
In re Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc.
Citation:
51 F.3d 1293 (1995)Facts
In the early 1980s, many hemophiliacs became infected with HIV through blood solids (clotting factors) manufactured by the defendants. By the mid-1980s, the medical community recognized that HIV could be transmitted through blood, and heat treatment was developed to kill the virus in blood products. The plaintiffs alleged that defendants were negligent under two theories: (1) the “serendipity” theory that proper precautions against Hepatitis B would have also protected against HIV, and (2) defendants negligently delayed implementing screening and heat treatment after learning about HIV risks. Approximately 300 lawsuits had been filed, with defendants winning 12 of the first 13 cases tried. Judge Grady certified a class action limited to determining negligence issues, with the intention that individual plaintiffs would later use the findings through collateral estoppel in individual suits for damages. The defendants sought a writ of mandamus to overturn this certification.
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.