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Torts Keyed to Underwood
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Gonzalez
Citation:
968 S.W.2d 934 (Tex. 1998)Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
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*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. Review the Facts of this case here:
The plaintiff visited the defendant’s store with her daughter and two granddaughters. While walking in a busy aisle from the cafeteria toward a store refrigerator, the plaintiff stepped on some cooked macaroni salad that came from the defendant’s cafeteria. Plaintiff slipped and fell, sustaining painful injuries to her back, shoulder, and knee. No witnesses testified that they had seen or were aware of the spilled macaroni before the plaintiff slipped on it. However, to argue that the macaroni had been on the floor for a prolonged period of time, the plaintiff testified that the macaroni had mayonnaise in it, was fresh, wet, still humid, and contaminated with a lot of dirt. The plaintiff’s daughter claimed that the macaroni had footprints and cart track marks in it and seemed like it had been there for a while.
- 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.