Case study:
A. Introduction
"Case law" is a term describing the published decisions of courts of appeal (e.g. the Oregon Court of Appeals, which is the court that reviews appeals of cases in Oregon county Circuit Courts-see https://courts.oregon.gov/COA/). These published decisions set important case precedent, meaning that other courts usually must use these decisions as a template for how to rule on a controversy involving similar facts and circumstances. Typically, the higher the court, the more important the precedent (e.g., the decisions of Oregon's case, the Oregon Supreme Court supersede decisions of the Oregon Court of Appeals involving the same facts and circumstances).
Case law is important for many reasons. For instance, case law interprets statutes, ordinances, and other law made by Congress, state legislators, city councils, and other lawmakers. Case law also interprets the U.S. Constitution, and the constitutions of the various states. As such, case-law decisions effectively modify the applicable law.
Case law is also important for businesses. This is because case law provides important information regarding how a business should operate under certain facts and circumstances, and how businesses should interpret the law adopted by lawmakers. For instance, in the case of Berry v. Richfiled Oil Corp., 189 Or 568, 587-588 (1950), the Oregon Supreme Court held that a person who has not bothered to read or seek clarification of his or her contract cannot later prevail in court on the basis that the contract has been misrepresented. In the case of Lukas v. J.C. Penney Co., 233 Or 345 (1963), the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that a "cause of action" (meaning a basis for legal liability) for false imprisonment may arise even if the period of confinement is for a few minutes and not a much longer period; hence, businesses cannot necessarily rely on the relatively short duration of improper confinement (e.g. a minute or two) to escape liability for false imprisonment.
Ideally, there would be at least one case describing how the law applies (i.e. how a court would rule) to each possible business controversy. That way, a business could act both proactively (e.g. how to design its store to minimize negligence claims, how to properly prepare employee contracts to minimize claims for breach of contract, etc.) and reactively (e.g. exactly what to do if someone slips and falls, what to do if the business is sued, etc.) for every possible set of facts and circumstances. Of course, in reality, each event in life is a bit different from others. Hence, it is difficult to find a case "on all fours" (i.e. identical) to any particular set of actual facts and circumstances. However, cases can serve as extremely important guides for what to do--and what not to do--in business and in personal lives. Finding a "good case" (i.e. similar facts and circumstances to the issue or problem at hand) is important to lawyers and businesses alike in responding to lawsuits-and perhaps more importantly, in providing information on how to avoid them.
Don't be surprised when your business attorney enthusiastically says "I have found a great case for you" because attorneys are trained to find cases for use in good, proactive business planning and also to predict the outcome of legal controversies.
B. Assignment
Pick a topic of in interest and express it in a few simple words-for instance, the words "real estate fraud" or "false imprisonment" or "battery." You can also add more specific words such as "store" or "stress" or "weapon." Then add the name of a court with your words-for instance "Oregon Court of Appeals" Google these terms. Many published cases will appear.
Instead of Google, you may also search the powerful lexis/nexis legal data base available free to SOU students by using the following link:
https://glacier.sou.edu/login?url=https://www.lexisnexis.com/universe (see "Look up a Legal Case" then use "or by topic" box for search terms).
Any published state or federal case will be fine, but please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like suggestions.
For specific instructions, please see pages 30-31 and Appendix A in the text. If you wish, additional briefing instructions are available on-line under a search of "how to brief a case" or the like. Length should be approximately four to five pages, double spaced.