Thing v. La Chusa
Brief

Citation. 48 Cal. 3d 644 | 771 P.2d 814 | 257 Cal. Rptr. 865 Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff’s son was injured in a car accident, but plaintiff did not witness the accident.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. Foreseeability of the injury alone was not a meaningful restriction on the scope of an action for negligent infliction of emotional distress.     ...

Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co.
Brief

Citation108 Ariz. 178, 494 P.2d 700 (1972) Brief Fact Summary. The defendant lawfully maintains feedlots in an area outside of Phoenix. Upon the development of a residential community nearby, the feedlots, albeit still lawful, became a nuisance to the new population in the area.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. When a lawful business becomes a nuisance due to the encroachment of a residential development, that lawful business can be enjoined, but may be owed damages in the form of indemnification.     ...

Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel
Brief

Citation424 S.W.2d 627 (Tex. 1967) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff was holding his plate and waiting to be served at a luncheon. The manager of the hotel, Flynn, snatched the plate from plaintiff’s hand and shouted a racial slur at plaintiff. Plaintiff sued the hotel, the manager, and the club where the hotel was located for assault and battery.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. Actual physical contact is not necessary to constitute a battery, so long as there is contact with clothing or an object closely identified with the body as to be customarily regar ...

Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusement Co.
Brief

Citation250 N.Y. 479, 166 N.E. 173 (N.Y. 1929) Brief Fact Summary. A man fractured his knee cap while on a Coney Island ride called “The Flopper” whose purpose in jerking about was to make ride-goers fall down.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. An individual who participates in a ride he reasonably knows to be dangerous accepts risks associated with the ride to the extent that the risks are obvious and necessary.   ...

Lopez v. Winchell’s Donut House
Brief

Citation126 Ill.App.3d 46, 466 N.E.2d 1309 (Ill. App. Ct. 1984) Brief Fact Summary. Employees accused Lopez of stealing money from the donut shop by sequestering her off to a backdoor room of the shop. Lopez said that the employees never threatened her or made her feel unsafe, nor did they make her feel like she couldn’t leave. Instead, in her false imprisonment, Lopez claimed that her wrongful termination greatly injured her reputation and caused her great mental distress.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. Moral pressure alone does not lend to a claim o ...

Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
Brief

Citation485 U.S. 46, 108 S.Ct. 876, 99 L.Ed.2d 41 (1988) Brief Fact Summary. Hustler Magazine published a parody ad of Falwell having incestuous relations with his mother. A small-print disclaimer said that the ad was not to be taken seriously. Falwell sued Hustler Magazine for libel, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. Public figures and public officials may not recover for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress by reason of publications without showing in addition t ...

Deuser v. Vecera
Brief

Citation139 F.3d 1190 Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff was arrested at a fair by defendant for public urination. Defendant released the intoxicated plaintiff in a parking lot that was ten blocks away from the site of the fair. Plaintiff wandered onto an interstate highway, where he was struck and killed by a motorist. Plaintiff’s survivors brought suit for wrongful death.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. The United States is shielded from liability when it exercises sound judgment and discretionary action and its conduct is founded in social, economic, or political g ...

Rush v. Commercial Realty Co.
Brief

Citation7 N.J.Misc. 337, 145 A. 476 Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff was a tenant of a house controlled by defendant. While using the outhouse on the property, plaintiff fell through the floor and descended nine feet into the accumulation below. Plaintiff brought suit against defendant for negligent maintenance of the outhouse.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. An injured party has not impliedly assumed the risk when he or she did not voluntarily or knowingly consent to the tortfeasor’s negligent act.   ...

Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusement Co.
Brief

Citation166 N.E. 173 (N.Y. 1929) Brief Fact Summary. Murphy (Plaintiff) fell and was injured on a ride owned by the Steeplechase Amusement Co. (Defendant).   Synopsis of Rule of Law. A defendant is not liable for injuries to a plaintiff that result from a foreseeable risk of participating in the ride.   ...

Ira S. Bushey & Sons v. United States
Brief

Citation398 F.2d 167 (2d Cir. 1968) Brief Fact Summary. Ira S. Bushey & Sons (Plaintiff) sued the United States (Defendant) for damage Defendant’s seaman caused to Plaintiff’s drydock.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. An employer is strictly liable for the actions of its employees when damage from the actions of its employees relating to their employment is foreseeable.     ...

Behrens v. Bertram Mills Circus, Ltd.
Brief

Citation2 QB 1, 1 All ER 583, 2 WLR 404 (1957) Brief Fact Summary. The Behrens couple (Plaintiffs) were injured when an elephant at the circus run by Bertram Mills Circus, Ltd. (Defendant) was scared by a dog and trampled on the Plaintiffs.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. One is strictly liable for any actions of an animal under one’s control that is not harmless by nature or domesticated.   ...

Thing v. La Chusa
Brief

Citation771 P.2d 814 (Cal. 1989) Brief Fact Summary. A mother learned that her child was hit by a car after it had happened, and brought suit for emotional distress suffered when she arrived at the scene of the accident.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. The plaintiff cannot recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress if she was not an eyewitness to the accident.     ...

Strauss v. Belle Realty Co.
Brief

Citation482 N.E.2d 34 (N.Y. 1985) Brief Fact Summary. A tenant sued after they had their utilities cut off.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. A utility company owes a duty to the party they have contracted with.     ...

Philip Morris USA v. Williams
Brief

Citation127 S. Ct. 1057 (2007) Brief Fact Summary. Punitive damages were potentially awarded based on harm to people not a party to the litigation.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. Punitive damages cannot be awarded for injury suffered by non-parties to the litigation.   ...

BV Nederlandse Industrie Van Eiprodukten v. Rembrandt Enterprises, Inc.
Brief

Citation. [2019] EWCA Civ 596 Brief Fact Summary. The plaintiff, a US company, contracted with the defendant, a Netherlands-based company, for the supply of egg products during the avian flu epidemic in the US. The defendant company after forming the first contract with the plaintiff raised its prices in order to cover the costs of compliance with US regulations. The plaintiff agreed to the price increase, forming a second contract. The plaintiff later alleged that the defendant fraudulently misrepresented the nature of the cost increase, because the increase included the element of p ...

Slaughter-House Cases
Brief

Citation. 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 36 (1873) Brief Fact Summary. Butchers in Louisiana challenged the state statute that prohibited slaughtering animals in Louisiana and that required butchers to slaughter only at a certain place and pay a utility fee.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. The entire domain of the privileges and immunities of citizens of the States lay within the constitutional and legislative power of the States, and without that of the Federal Government, with the exception of a few restrictions.   ...

Plessy v. Ferguson
Brief

Citation163 U.S. 537 (1896) Brief Fact Summary. The petitioners challenged the Louisiana statute that provided for separate but equal railway carriages for the white and colored races.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. Every exercise of the police power must be reasonable, and extend only to such laws as are enacted in good faith for the promotion of the public good, and not for annoyance or oppression of a particular class.   ...

NFIB v. Sebelius (on the Taxing Power)
Brief

Citation132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012) Brief Fact Summary. Congress passed the ACA, which included a provision that required most Americans to maintain health insurance or make a payment to the IRS.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. The individual mandate payment under the ACA was a valid exercise of Congress’ tax power.   ...

NFIB v. Sebelius (on the Spending Clause)
Brief

Citation132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012) Brief Fact Summary. The ACA required the states to expand their Medicaid coverage or risk losing all of their federal Medicaid funding.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. The Medicaid expansion provision of the ACA was not a valid exercise of Congress’ authority under the Spending Clause because they were impermissibly coercive. Relevant factors to this analysis were (1) the extent of the cost to the states, (2) whether the policy change is a shift in kind or degree, and (3) whether states could have anticipated the policy chang ...

NFIB v. Sebelius (on the Commerce Clause)
Brief

Citation132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012) Brief Fact Summary. Congress passed a law requiring individuals to maintain health care.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. The individual mandate provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was an invalid exercise of the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause. By requiring individuals to purchase health insurance, the government was not regulating commerce, but creating it.   ...

Massachusetts v. EPA
Brief

Citation549 U.S. 497 (2007) Brief Fact Summary. The plaintiffs sued the EPA, arguing that its failure to regulate emissions violated the Clean Air Act.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. A state can have show injury and standing to sue the EPA for violating its obligations under the Clean Air Act.     ...

Boumediene v. Bush
Brief

Citation553 U.S. 723 (2008) Brief Fact Summary. Petitioners were designated as enemy combatants and detained at Guantanamo Bay. The procedures for challenging their designations were laid out in the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005. The detainees sought habeas corpus.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. Non-citizens designated as enemy combatants detained at the United States Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus.   ...

Slaughter-House Cases
Brief

Citation. 16 Wall. (83. U.S.) 36, 21 L. Ed. 394 (1873) Brief Fact Summary. Butchers in Louisiana challenged the state law that required all competing facilities to close but required the new corporation to permit independent butchers to slaughter by paying fees, alleging the violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. Privileges and immunities that each citizen in the United States is entitled to include only those that are fundamental.     ...

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (3)
Brief

Citation567 U.S. 519 (2012) Brief Fact Summary. The Affordable Care Act expanded the scope of the Medicaid program by requiring state programs to provide Medicaid coverage to all adults within certain poverty level. The Act added that if any State refuses to comply, it risks losing all of its federal Medicaid funds.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. The legitimacy of Congress’s exercise of the spending power rests on whether the State “voluntarily and knowingly” accepts the terms of the federal law.     ...

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2)
Brief

Citation567 U.S. 519 (2012) Brief Fact Summary. Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, which requires most Americans to have minimum essential health insurance coverage. It is argued that Congress does not have the power to enact the Act under the Commerce Clause.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. A tax does not constitute a penalty when (1) the tax imposed is not an exceedingly heavy burden, (2) the tax is imposed only on those who knowingly violate the law, and (3) the tax is enforced by an agency responsible for p ...