Case Brief and Analysis
Read this Case: Employment contract frustration: Verigen v Ensemble Travel Ltd., 2021 BCSC 1934 (CanLII), https://canlii.ca/t/jjf8n
Read the case.
Prepare a case brief. Structure the case brief using the following headings for each section of the case brief:
Summary of Facts
Legal Issues
Decision and Reasons
Recommendations
Opinion
Details for each section include:
Summary of Facts
(approx. 150–200 words)
Summary of facts explains what happened in the case by providing an overview of the case’s most important points, including all relevant people, actions, locations, and objects involved.
The summary should answer who, when, where, what, why, and how.
The summary identifies and describes the facts tied to the issue that impacted the outcome. (That means, not all the facts need to be discussed, only the most relevant ones.) An essential part of the facts can include, for example, the legislation or regulation the court is asked to consider. If a statute or regulation is relevant to your case, summarize it—do not simply copy and paste the section.
Depending on the case’s complexity, the summary should be around six-to-ten sentences long.
Note: It helps to write the summary of facts after explaining the legal issues in the case.
Legal Issues
(approx. 150–200 words)
In this section, identify the primary substantive legal issue or issues.
The legal issues are the questions that the court must answer in arriving at its decision. To identify the most important issues, focus on the substantive law questions the court is tasked with assessing rather than procedural law. Substantive law addresses how employers and employees govern themselves, while procedural law addresses how the employees and employers can enforce the law.
Note: You can write the legal issue(s) as question(s).
You will explain how the court answered the question(s) in the next section, Decisions and Reasons.
Decision and Reasons
(approx. 600–700 words)
In this section, (a) describe the court’s decision and (b) describe how the court reached the decision.
In one to two sentences describe the court’s decision with respect to the issues.
Describe how the court reached the decision with reference to the legal principle(s) the court applied. The legal principles are tied to the issue(s).
Note: Focus on the judge’s decision and the reasons given. The reasons for judgment should tie into the issue(s).
Ask the questions: How did the judge(s) answer those questions and why? What were their reasons for answering those questions in the way they did?
In appeal cases, more than one judge often hears the decision. Sometimes they don’t unanimously agree. The majority of the judges determine the outcome of the case. Judges that disagree often provide their reasons in the dissenting opinion. Your focus should remain on the decision of the majority of the judges. Do not discuss any dissenting opinion.
Recommendations
(approx. 150–200 words)
In this section, provide recommendation(s) on how to avoid similar issues from occurring again. Answer this question: What can employers and employees learn from this to avoid these problems in the future?
Opinion
(approx. 150–200 words)
In this section of the case brief, provide your viewpoint on the case. For example, do you have any concerns about this development? Do you agree with the trial’s outcome, and why or why not?
