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Contract law case summaries: why and howWHYContract law is largely case based. The law can be found in the judgments in theleading cases. In the examination, you are given problem questions and asked to

identify the relevant law and apply it to them. This means you must be extremelyfamiliar with the statements about, and discussions of, the law made in the

judgments, so that you can use that law and apply it to the new fact situationsyou have been given.

The problem questions you are given will NOT have the same factual base as thedecided cases. You will need to understand why the law was made and how itwas applied in the cases, so that you can work out how it might be applicable tothe new facts. This means that when you are reading and briefing/summarisingcases, the smartest question to ask yourself, when you get to the end of thecase, is: what would have happened if and think about different factualsituations.

High quality answers to problem questions consider all the arguments that mightbe made about the legal issues involved. This means that you will very often bearguing IN THE ALTERNATIVE. The more familiar you are with the cases and thedetails of the way in which the law was discussed in them, the better able youwill be to discuss differing approaches that might be taken to the problem.

It is also worth remembering that when you read judgments, you are seeinglegal thinking in action. The judges will state the facts, they will identify the legal

issue(s) and they will then identify what they regard as the law relevant to theissue(s). Having done this, they will then apply the relevant law to the facts toreach a conclusion. This is exactly what you are asked to do every time youanswer a legal question. The more cases you analyse, the more comfortable andfamiliar with legal thinking you will become.

HOWYou will, of course, develop your own method for reading and briefing cases thatworks for you (by which we mean, gives you all the information you need in aform that you can use for revision and in tests and examinations). There is no

right way to read and brief a case. The following are just suggestions to ensurethat you do not miss anything important.

Material facts: facts are particularly important in contract law, because they formthe "raw material" that a judge uses to assess the parties' intentions. Anyfacts that influenced/contributed to a judge's findings on the parties'intentions should be included in your case summary; it is important to rememberthat you are practising the skill of identifying relevant facts you will need this

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skill when you tackle an unseen problem question in a test or exam;

Issue(s): you will recall from the Legal Method course that the legal issue will beclosely linked to the ratioof the case (e.g. if the legal issue is was there anoffer? the answer to that will outline WHY the court thought there was or was

not, thus giving details of the test(s) that are relevant to deciding whether thereis an offer you will then use those tests in an unseen problem question); this isan important part of your case brief/summary;

Relevant Law: the judgment will identify what the judge regards as the lawrelevant to the legal issue(s) in the case and will discuss her/his understanding ofthat law, any controversies, developments, etc. Within this discussion, the ratioof the case will be found. Your notes on the relevant law and how it wasanalysed are the most important part of your brief/summary. It is this part of thebrief/summary that you will use when you are considering a new fact situation ina test or exam.

Application: after identifying the law and discussing/analysing it, the judgmentwill apply the law as stated/understood by the judge to the facts in the case. Youneed to note this, so that you can see how the law might be applied to similarfact situations. It is a good idea, having noted how the law was applied, to askyourself: how would the law have been applied if the facts had been a bitdifferent?This checks how well you really understand the law and its possibleapplications.

Conclusion: although you will note what happened, the outcome of the case,

this is not a crucial part of the brief/summary.

After completing your case brief/summary (or at least during revision), askyourself:

Why is this case important?

What did it add to the law on this topic?

Do I really understand how the ratioof this case could be applied to newfacts?

How does this case add to/fit in with/contradict/previous cases I have

read in this course?