SmartBrief
0
Confirm favorite deletion?
Contracts Keyed to Kuney
Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc.
Citation:
88 F. Supp. 2d 115 (1999)
ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Pepsico ran a promotional campaign entitled “Pepsi Stuff.” During the promotion, consumers could collect “Pepsi Points” from specially marked soft drink packages and redeem those points for merchandise featuring the Pepsi logo. Pepsi Points could also be purchased for ten cents each. To advertise the promotion, Pepsico ran a commercial featuring a teenager getting ready for the day in Pepsi branded merchandise. As each item was featured, a subtitle would show on the screen labeling the item and a number of Pepsi points. The commercial went on to show the teenager arriving at school in a military fighter jet laughing and exclaiming that it “Sure beats the bus.” The subtitle then read “HARRIER FIGHTER 7,000,000 PEPSI POINTS.”
Plaintiff Leonard saw this commercial and was inspired to win a Harrier Jet. He consulted the Pepsi Stuff Catalog which included an Order From listing 53 items of merchandise, none of which were the Harrier Jet. Leonard initially set out to collect 7,000,000 Pepsi Points by consuming Pepsi products, but after realizing it was not feasible, set out to raise $700,000 from acquaintances instead (the actual cost of a new Harrier Jet at that time was roughly 23 million dollars). On March 27, 1996, Leonard submitted an Order Form with fifteen original Pepsi Points and a check for $700,008.50. In the item column of the the Order Form he wrote Harrier Jet. On May 7, 1996, Pepsico rejected Leonard’s submission and returned the check explaining that the the item was not part of the collection and only items featured in the Pepsi Stuff Catalog could be ordered. On May 14, 1996, Leonard’s counsel responded to Pepsico claiming their letter was unacceptable and the advertisement clearly offered a new Harrier Jet. On May 30, 1996, the actual producer of the commercial responded to Leonard stating that the use of the Jet in the advertisement was clearly a joke. On June 17, 1996, Leonard mailed yet another demand letter to Pepsico, thereafter this suit commenced.
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 
11m 57s
12m 10s
Topic Charts & Notes 