Case Summaries
The case summaries below were written by our expert writers, as a learning aid to help you with your studies. If you are looking for help with your case summary then we offer a comprehensive writing service provided by fully qualified academics in your field of study.
Case Summaries & Related Services
Palsgraf v Long Island Railroad - Case Brief
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
The elements that must be satisfied in order to bring a claim in negligence (note that this is a US case). The claimant was standing on a station platform purchasing a ticket. Whilst she was doing so a train stopped in the station and two men ran to catch it....
Photo Production v Securicor - 1980
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Due diligence, negligence and exclusion clauses in contracts. The issue in this case was whether the doctrine of fundamental breach applied and was relevant, and whether an exclusion clause could be effective....
Alexander Barton v Armstrong
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Barton and Armstrong were major company shareholders. Following a meeting, it was agreed that Barton would buy Armstrong’s interest. Barton and Armstrong had an agreement drawn up and it was executed....
Lampleigh v Braithwaite
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
When past consideration may be good consideration.. The defendant, Braithwaite, killed a man. He asked the plaintiff, Lampleigh to secure him a pardon from the king. ...
Latimer v AEC Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
The defendant Mr Latimer, worked in a factory owned by the defendants, AEC Ltd. The factory had become flooded due to adverse weather, which caused the floor to become very slippery. ...
Wheat v E Lacon & Co Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
The defendants, in this case, were brewers who owned a public house, which they entrusted to a licensee to manage. This individual was employed by the defendants under a service agreement to this effect....
Cole v Turner
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
The relevance of the mental element in the tort of Battery. The case concerned an action brought before the court for trespass and battery. The Claimants were a husband and wife, both of who had allegedly suffered battery by the Defendant....
Combe v Combe - 1951
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
During the divorce process, a husband promised to pay his wife a tax-free sum of £100 each year to represent a permanent maintenance payment. The wife was aware that the husband was not in a good financial state and made no claim to this payment....
Stevenson, Jordan Harrison Ltd v MacDonald & Evans
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Definition of an employee under a ‘contract of service’ for the purposes of determining the copyright of a work. An engineer wrote a book that used knowledge that he acquired whilst he was working for a firm in different capacities....
Thoburn v Sunderland City Council
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – DELEGATED LEGISLATION – DIRECTIVES – EC LEGISLATION – WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The Units of Measurement Regulations 1994, which were brought into force pursuant to the exercise of powers conferred by section 2(2) and (4) of the European Communities Act 1972....
R v Shivpuri - 1986
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Whether a person can be convicted for attempting an impossible crime – Importation of prohibited drugs. Pyare Shivpuri (S) was persuaded to act as a drugs courier. S collected a suitcase which contained several packages of white powder....
Taylor v Caldwell - 1863
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Case Summary of Taylor V Caldwell [1863] 3 B&S 826. Contract frustrations and implied terms. The case of Taylor v Caldwell[1] is a fundamental case in the area of frustration with regards to contract law....
Krell v Henry [1903]
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
By contract in writing of 20 June 1902, the defendant agreed to hire from the plaintiff a flat in Pall Mall on 26 June and 27 June, on which days it had been announced that the coronation processions would take place and pass along Pall Mall....
White v Bluett - 1853
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Contract law – Consideration. Bluett Sr. lent his son, the respondent in this case, a sum of money and died before his son had repaid this to him. Bluett Sr. and Jr. had agreed on this and completed a promissory note to this effect....
R v Donovan
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
It was established at trial that the appellant, Mr Donovan, had ‘induced’ the victim to accompany him to his garage, wherein he had proceeded to beat her with a cane in ‘circumstances of indecency’...
Holwell Securities v Hughes
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Holwell Securities claimed specific performance of the contract when Dr Hughes refused to complete the sale of his house. This claim was originally dismissed by the court. But, it was appealed. ...
Wilsons and Clyde Co v English
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
The defendants had employed the complainant, Mr English. He was working on a repair to an airway on the Mine Jigger Brae, which was used as part of the haulage system....
JJC v Eisenhower
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Whether internal blood vessel damage suffices for a finding of wounding under s. 18.. The defendant, a minor, shot multiple rounds from an air gun at a group of people, of which one airgun pellet hit the victim....
Edgington v Fitzmaurice - 1885
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
The directors of a business provided a prospectus which contained a range of debentures, in order to invite subscriptions. The directors stated that the debentures were in order to enable the business to complete alterations to the buildings of the company, to develop trade and to purchase vans and horses....
D & C Builders v Rees
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
The builders sought payment from Rees for building work done and materials supplied in respect of alterations and repairs completed on Rees’ shop. Rees did not pay, but the work continued and a second bill was issued....
Young v Bristol Aeroplane Company Limited
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Obligation to follow previous decisions. The plaintiff, who was employed at the defendants' workshops, received injury in an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment and received compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Acts...
R v Wilson - 1996
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Consensual bodily harm between husband and wife. Alan Wilson was charged under s 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 for assault. He branded his initials into his wife’s buttocks with a hot knife....
R v Evans - 2009
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Manslaughter by gross negligence – duty of care. Evans purchased heroin and gave it to her half-sister who later self-ingested the drug. Evans recognised that the victim had symptoms akin to those of an overdose and remained with her mother and the victim, without calling for medical assistance as they feared getting into trouble....
R v Jogee [2016] UKSC 8
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Parasitic Accessory Liability, intention and foresight of principal’s act. This joint case involved two separate appellants who had been convicted for murder on the basis of joint enterprise, after a co-defendant had actually killed the victim....
Jones v Kernott
Example case summary. Last modified: 30th Sep 2021
Beneficial interests of a co-habiting couple in a family home. An unmarried, co-habiting couple, Mr. Kernott and Ms. Jones, purchased a home with a mortgage in joint names....
Tip: If you can't find what you are looking for, try shortening your search phrase. E.g. "Salomon"