3.2. Reading Case Law

The Anatomy of a Judgment

PART A: CONCEPT (How to Read a Case)

In the Common Law system, reading case law is as important as reading statutes. A case report is typically divided into four main parts:

1. The Facts: The events that happened between the parties (The story).
2. The Issue: The legal question the court must answer.
3. The Holding: The court's decision (Who wins?).
4. The Reasoning: The logic used by the judge.
   • Ratio Decidendi: The core legal principle (Binding).
   • Obiter Dicta: Remarks made "by the way" (Not binding).

PART B: THE LANDMARK CASE

Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)

Facts: Mrs. Donoghue's friend bought her a bottle of ginger beer. A decomposed snail fell out. Mrs. Donoghue fell ill.

Legal Problem: She could not sue for "breach of contract" because she didn't buy the beer herself. She sued for negligence.

The Decision: Lord Atkin ruled in her favor, establishing the "Neighbour Principle": You must take reasonable care to avoid acts that foreseeably injure your neighbour (anyone closely affected by your act).

Conclusion: Manufacturers owe a duty of care to ultimate consumers.

PART C: INTERACTIVE EXERCISES

Exercise 1: Matching (The Anatomy)

Match the term with its description.

1. Facts Select... A. The legal question B. The final result (Who wins) C. Binding legal principle D. Comments (Not binding) E. The story of what happened

2. Issue Select... A. The legal question B. The final result C. Binding legal principle D. Comments E. The story

3. Holding Select... A. The legal question B. The final result C. Binding legal principle D. Comments E. The story

4. Ratio Decidendi Select... A. The legal question B. The final result C. Binding legal principle D. Comments E. The story

5. Obiter Dicta Select... A. The legal question B. The final result C. Binding legal principle D. Comments E. The story

Exercise 2: Text Analysis

Click the sentence that represents the RATIO DECIDENDI (The legal rule).

(A) The defendant drove his car through a red light and hit the plaintiff. (B) The plaintiff suffered a broken leg. (C) The issue is whether a driver is liable for damages when violating traffic signals. (D) I believe that all drivers owe a duty to other road users to obey traffic signals. (E) If the driver had been flying a plane, the rules might be different. (F) Therefore, I find the defendant liable for negligence.

Exercise 3: Case Briefing (Gap Fill)

Fill in: manufacturer, contract, snail, neighbour, duty of care

1. FACTS: The bottle contained a decomposed . The claimant had no with the seller.

2. HOLDING: Yes. The is liable.

3. REASONING: Lord Atkin established the "Neighbour Principle." One must avoid acts that could injure one's . This created the modern .

Exercise 4: Multiple Choice

1. Why couldn't Mrs. Donoghue sue the cafe owner?

a) The cafe owner was not negligent.
b) She did not buy the drink herself; her friend did.
c) There is no law about ginger beer.

2. What is Lord Atkin's definition of "Neighbour"?

a) People who live next door.
b) Anyone you speak to regularly.
c) Persons directly affected by my act.

Exercise 5: True or False

1. Obiter Dicta creates a binding law. ?TrueFalse

2. The Facts section explains legal logic. ?TrueFalse

3. Stare Decisis means lower courts follow higher courts. ?TrueFalse

4. In Donoghue, a contract was necessary to sue. ?TrueFalse

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Answer Key

• Ex 1: 1-E, 2-A, 3-B, 4-C, 5-D
• Ex 2: (D) is the Ratio Decidendi.
• Ex 3: 1. snail, 2. contract, 3. manufacturer, 4. neighbour, 5. duty of care
• Ex 4: 1-b, 2-c
• Ex 5: 1. False, 2. False, 3. True, 4. False