LAW 204 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Precedent, Ratio Decidendi, Oral Contract
23 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 2: Legal Analysis in a Business Context
Overview:
• Stare Decisis
• Court Hierarchy
• IRAC
Review
• Stare decisis is Lati fo to stad y thigs deided
o Points of litigation determined according to precedent
o Like cases will be treated alike
o Lower court must follow higher court ratio
• Ratio decidendi is the easo o atioale fo a deisio
o Each case raises a legal issue or question
o A ratio is a generalized principle of law which answers that question
o Ratio are the precedential part of a case
• What is Important? Hierarchy!!
o Decisions by Supreme Court of Canada binding on all lower courts in Canada
o Decision by Ontario Court of Appeal binding on all lower courts in Ontario
o Decisions by Ontario Court of Appeal not binding on British Columbia Court of
Appeal
▪ Can be persuasive to lower courts in British Columbia if BCCA has not
rules on the specific issue of law
What is Important? IRAC!!
• Issue
• Rule
• Analysis
• Conclusion
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 2: legal analysis in a business context. Appeal: can be persuasive to lower courts in british columbia if bcca has not rules on the specific issue of law. Issue spotting: the key to issue spotting is to identify which facts raise which issues. Questions to ask when reading cases: what facts and circumstances brought these parties to court, are there buzzwords that suggest an issue. Is the court deciding a question of fact (parties dispute what happened) or an issue of law: what are not the issues of concern to you. Contract hypothesis: an old man who is very ill and near death makes an oral contract with his nephew. The nephew takes the money and supports the old man at a cost of ,000 a year. The old man lives longer than expected and is still alive after. 15 years at which point the nephew cuts the old man off without further support.
