SmartBrief
0
Confirm favorite deletion?
Contracts Keyed to Fuller
Maxwell v. Fidelity Financial Services, Inc.
Citation:
Maxwell v. Fidelity Financial Services, Inc., Supreme Court of Arizona, En Banc, 1995. 184 Ariz. 82, 907 P.2d 51.Facts
The Maxwells (Plaintiff) financed the purchase of a $6,512 solar home water heater by taking out a loan from Fidelity (Defendant). The sale price was financed for a ten-year period at 19.5% interest, making the total cost of the transaction nearly $15,000. Elizabeth Maxwell earned about $400 a month working part-time, and her husband, Charles, earned approximately $1,800 per month working for the local paper. Fidelity requested an appraisal of the Maxwell’s home, finding it market value to be approximately $40,000. A lien was placed on the Maxwell’s house as additional security for the water heater contract. Despite the fact that the water heater never worked properly, the Maxwell’s made payments for three and a half years. Subsequently, Maxwell approached Fidelity to borrow an additional $800. Fidelity required the Maxwells to sign several documents, identical to those they had executed in the original contract, instead of simply adding the $800 to the Maxwells original contract. The Maxwells now owed Fidelity a total of $17,000. Therefore, the Maxwells brought a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that the original contract between the parties was unenforceable on the grounds that it was unconscionable.
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
6m 28sTopic Outline 