COMM 314: Legal Research Memo

COMM 314: Legal Research Memo
As an alternative to the informal report, I am offering students the opportunity to write a Legal
Research Memo. This style of document is similar to the informal report as it focuses on the
following tasks:
• responding to a specific problem
• doing quality research
• organizing findings into a cogent form
However, a legal Research Memo does differ in terms of the kind of research that goes into it,
and the format that it follows. If you decide to go do this version of the formal report assignment,
your memo should include the following elements:
• Facts
• Issue
• Conclusion / Recommendations
• Discussion
• Summary
Resources and Fact Pattern:
Resources:
Because our course textbook is focused on workplace writing and not legal writing, you will
need to follow the information provided in the resources listed below.
1. In terms of how to conduct legal research and frame your findings, I recommend that you
look at the “Steps in Legal Research” page from Queen’s University:
http://library.queensu.ca/law/lederman/steps
2. The University of Wisconsin Law School has some useful tips in its “Guide to Writing a
Legal Memoranda”:
www.law.wisc.edu/lrw/small_section_guide_-_memo_writing.docx
3. Catherine Best also provides some pointers on her “Legal Research” page:
http://legalresearch.org/docs/process01.html
Examples:
Sample legal research memos can be found in the following places:
1. http://www.law.ubc.ca/files/pdf/current/jd/lrw/2010/LRWSampleMemo.pdf
2. http://legalresearch.org/docs/name.html
fact pattern on reverse:
Legal Research Memo Fact Pattern: Storage Locker Debacle.
Gus Moneygrubber contacts your office in a panic. He has been served with a statement of claim
(schedule A – available on Blackboard in “Locker Debacle” folder in “Learning Materials”
section).
Gus describes the following chain of events:
Gus has been the owner and operator of Moneygrubber's storage for 15 years. He operates a
location at 123 Anystreet, Toronto Ontario (the "Facility"). The facility has 250 storage lockers
of varying sizes. Gus considers himself to be an upstanding business person and insists that he
has never been sued before. Dan Deadbeat became a client of Moneygrubbers 2 years ago on
August 1, 2009, pursuant to a contract (schedule B – available on Blackboard in “Locker
Debacle” folder in “Learning Materials” section).
Over the years, Dan Deadbeat and Gus Moneygrubber have had their differences. Only two
months after becoming a tenant, Deadbeat fell into arrears in his rent. He caught up with his
payments just in time to prevent Gus from sending his property to auction. Each time that
Deadbeat fell into arrears, he would make excuses like complaining that the property was not
being well maintained, that he had found cockroaches in his locker, or that he had noticed that
the security camera nearest to his locker was broken. Moneygrubber admits that he has had
some problems with cockroaches, but that they are no worse than other storage facilities in the
area. He also admits that some of his security cameras probably need to be replaced.
From August 1 2009 to January 1, 2011, Dan Deadbeat was in arrears at least 3 times. As of
December 1, 2010, Dan Deadbeat had not paid his rent for two months. Gus Moneygrubber sent
a letter to Deadbeat using regular mail, on December 1, 2010, telling him that he had better pay
his rent, otherwise, "the junk in his locker" was going to be sold at auction on December 5, 2010.
Deadbeat never responded to Moneygrubber’s letter and on December 5, 2010, Moneygrubber
sold the contents of Deadbeat's locker for $100.00 at auction.
Gus Moneygrubber believes that he was entirely within his rights to dispose of Deadbeat's
property given that Deadbeat had not paid his rent. Moneygrubber wants to know your firm’s
opinion.
Your principle, Donna Greene, has asked you to put together a Legal Research Memo for her.
In plain language, give Donna Greene your opinion on Moneygrubber’s liability and any
potential damages that you think he might be exposed to. You will need to research and
reference the law that applies to this case.
* These reports are individual assignments and need to be original work. All sources need
to be properly cited using the APA system of citation (or consistently in another format
that your instructor has approved). Students who hand in the same report, or reports that
are overly similar the report of another student are committing plagiarism and will receive
a grade of zero on the assignment and may be subject to further academic punishment.
Schedule A
ONTARIO
Superior Court of Justice
Cour supérieure de justice
Plaintiff’s Claim
Demande du demandeur
Form / Formule 7A Ont. Reg. No. / Règl. de l’Ont.:258/98
Humber Small Claims Court
HSCC 435
Claim No. / N° de la demande
Small Claims Court / Cour des petites créances de
Seal / Sceau
205 Humber College Blvd.
Address / Adresse
416-894-5238
Phone number / Numéro de téléphone
Plaintiff No. 1 / Demandeur n° 1
Additional plaintiff(s) listed on attached Form 1A.
Under 18 years of age.
Le ou les demandeurs additionnels sont mentionnés sur la
formule 1A ci-jointe.
Moins de 18 ans.
Last name or name of company / Nom de famille ou nom de la compagnie
Deadbeat
First name / Premier prénom
Second name / Deuxième prénom
Also known as / Également connu(e) sous le nom de
Dan
Address (street & number, apt, unit) / Adresse (numéro et rue, app., unité)
25 Beat Street
City/ Town / Cité/ville
Province
Phone no. / N° de téléphone
Humber
Ontario
416-555-6789
Postal code / Code postal
Fax no. / N° de télécopieur
M4H3S2
Representative / Représentant(e)
LSUC # (if applicable) / N° du BHC (le cas échéant)
Address (street & number, apt., unit) / Adresse (numéro et rue, app., unité)
City/ Town / Cité/ville
Province
Postal code / Code postal
Defendant No. 1 / Défendeur n° 1
Phone no. / N° de téléphone
Fax no. / N° de télécopieur
Additional defendants(s) listed on attached Form 1A.
Under 18 years of age.
Le ou les défendeurs additionnels sont mentionnés sur la
formule 1A ci-jointe.
Moins de 18 ans.
Last name, or name of company, etc. / Nom de familler ou nom de la compagnie
Moneygrubbers Storage
First name / Premier prénom
Second name / Deuxième prénom
Also known as / Également connu(e) sous le nom de
Address for service (street & number, unit, municipality, province) / Adresse aux fins de signification (numéro et rue, unité, municipalité, province)
123 Anystreet
City/ Town / Cité/ville
Province
Phone no. / N° de téléphone
Humber
Ontario
416-345-6543
Postal code / Code postal
Fax no. / N° de télécopieur
M6S4F3
Representative / Représentant(e)
LSUC # (if applicable) / N° du BHC (le cas échéant)
Gus Moneygrubber
Address (street & number, apt., unit) / Adresse (numéro et rue, app., unité)
City/ Town / Cité/ville
Postal code / Code postale
Province
Phone no. / N° de téléphon
Fax no. / N° de télécopieur
FORM / FORMULE 7A
PAGE 2
Claim No. / N° de la demande
REASONS FOR CLAIM AND DETAILS / MOTIFS DE LA DEMANDE ET PRÉCISIONS
Explain what happened, including where and when. Then explain how much money you are claiming or what
goods you want returned.
Expliquez ce qui s’est passé, en précisant où et quand. Ensuite indiquez la somme d’argent que vous demandez
ou les biens dont vous demandez la restitution, explication à l’appui.
If you are relying on any documents, you MUST attach copies to the claim. If evidence is lost or unavailable, you
MUST explain why it is not attached.
Si vous vous appuyez sur des documents, vous DEVEZ en annexer des copies à la demande. Si une preuve est
perdue ou n’est pas disponible, vous DEVEZ expliquer pourquoi elle n’est pas annexée.
What happened?
Where?
When?
Que s’est-il
passé?
Où?
Quand?
1.
The plaintiff claims:
2.
25,000.00 in damages for breach of contract and improper disposal of personal
items.
3.
The plaintiff rented locker 232 at Moneygrubber’s storage located at 123 Anystreet
(the “Facility”) starting August 1, 2009, pursuant to a contract dated August 1, 2009.
4.
The plaintiff used locker 232 to store valuable family heirlooms including his
favourite latch-hook rug collection and newspaper clippings dating back to 1983.
5.
On or about January 1, 2011, the plaintiff went to the Facility to retrieve a family
heirloom (a set of Styrofoam cups) from his locker and found that his locker had been
emptied.
6.
Upon further inquiries, the plaintiff was told that his property had been disposed of
by the defendant.
7.
The plaintiff maintains that the defendant improperly disposed of his property.
8.
The plaintiff claims restitution in the amount of $25,000.00 for the value of
irreplaceable family heirlooms.
How much?
Combien?
$
25,000.00
Principal amount claimed / Somme demandée
$
ADDITIONAL PAGES ARE ATTACHED BECAUSE MORE ROOM WAS NEEDED.
DES FEUILLES SUPPLÉMENTAIRES SONT ANNEXÉES EN RAISON DU MANQUE D’ESPACE.
2
9319374.1
FORM / FORMULE 7A
PAGE 3
Claim No. / N° de la demande
The plaintiff also claims pre-judgment interest from
Le demandeur demande aussi des intérêts
antérieurs au jugement de
x
January 1, 2011
Date
under:
conformément à
the Courts of Justice Act
la Loi sur les tribunaux judiciaires
an agreement at the rate of
un accord au taux de
»
% per year
% par an
and post-judgment interest, and court costs.
et des intérêts postérieurs au jugement, ainsi que les dépens.
Prepared on:
Fait le:
Date
(Signature of plaintiff or representative / Signature du demandeur/de la
demanderesse ou du/de la représentant(e))
Issued on:
Délivré le:
Date
(Signature of clerk / Signature du greffier)
CAUTION TO
DEFENDANT:
IF YOU DO NOT FILE A DEFENCE (Form 9a) with the court within twenty (20) calendar days after you
have been served with this Plaintiff’s Claim, judgment may be obtained without notice and enforced
against you. Forms and self-help materials are available at the Small Claims Court and on the following
website: www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca.
AVERTISSEMENT AU SI VOUS NE DÉPOSEZ PAS DE DÉFENSE (formule 9a) auprès du tribunal au plus tard vingt (20)
DÉFENDEUR:
jours civils après avoir reçu signification de la présente demande du demandeur, un jugement peut être
obtenu sans préavis et être exécuté contre vous. Vous pouvez obtenir les formules et la documentation
à l’usage du client à la Cour des petites créances et sur le site Web suivant :
www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca.
3
9319374.1
Moneygrubber’s Storage – Lease Agreement
Schedule B
This Storage Unit Lease Agreement (hereinafter the "Agreement") is made by and between
Moneygrubber’s Storage, located at 123 Anystreet (hereinafter the "Landlord"), and
______________________________________________________________________________
(hereinafter jointly and severally the "Tenant"), whose mailing address is
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
1. TERM: This Agreement shall commence / occupancy begin on ________________ and expire /
occupancy end on ________________ unless sooner terminated pursuant to any provision hereof
(hereinafter the "Term").
2. LEASED PREMISES: Landlord agrees to lease Tenant storage unit(s) # _______ comprising
approximately _____ sq. ft. of floor space per unit and located at 123 Anystreet, Toronto, Ontario
(hereinafter the "Premises") during the Term.
3. RENT: Tenant agrees to pay Landlord $________ per month, plus applicable sales tax,
throughout the Term for the use of the Premises (hereinafter the "Rent"). The first month Rent shall
be payable in advance. Thereafter, Rent shall be due and payable in advance on or before the first
(1st) day of each and every succeeding calendar month (hereinafter the "Due Date"). Rent for any
period during the Term hereof which is for less than one month shall be a pro-rata portion of the
monthly installment. Rent shall be payable to Landlord at the address listed above or at such other
place as Landlord may designate in writing from time to time.
4. USE OF PREMISES: Tenant shall have access to the Premises for the purpose of storing and
removing personal property twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, subject to the
following conditions:
a) Tenant shall use the Premises solely for storage related purposes.
b) All personal property must be stored within the Premises (no outside storage is
permitted). Items left outside of the Premises for more than 48 hours may be towed or
hauled away at Tenant's expense.
c) Animals or pets may not be left unattended in the Premises, nor shall the Premises be
used for sleeping or as a living quarters.
The Landlord covenants that the premises will be kept secure by the use of 24-hour surveillance
cameras and monitoring by security forces.
5. CONDITION OF PREMISES: Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, Tenant has
inspected and hereby accepts the Premises in its "as is" condition existing as of the commencement
date of this Agreement or the date that Tenant takes possession of the Premises.
6. REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE: Landlord agrees to maintain the Premises throughout the Term
of this Agreement in as good condition and repair as the time of commencement of this Agreement.
Moneygrubber’s Storage – Lease Agreement
2
Landlord shall be responsible for replacing light bulbs, spraying for insect/pest infestations, and
repairs to Tenant supplied appliances. Landlord shall be responsible for normal wear and tear
repairs to Landlord supplied appliances, electrical, furnace, structural components and doors.
7. NOTICE PRIOR TO VACATING: Tenant shall send to Landlord's address via Certified Mail,
written notice of Tenant's intent to vacate, at least thirty (30) days prior to Tenant vacating the
Premises. If Tenant fails to give Landlord thirty (30) days advance written notice of his intent to
vacate, Tenant's security deposit shall be forfeited to Landlord as liquidated damages. Upon receipt
of Tenant's intent to vacate the Premises, Landlord may enter the Premises upon giving 24-hours
notice, for the purpose of showing it to prospective buyers or renters.
8. ABANDONMENT: Tenant shall not abandon the Premises at any time during the Term of this
Agreement. If Tenant shall abandon the Premises or be dispossessed by process of law or otherwise,
then Landlord or its agent shall have the right to take immediate possession of and reenter said
Premises, even if Tenant's Rent is paid. Tenant shall be and remain liable for any deficiency in Rent
until the Agreement expires or until such time as in the interim, the Premises are leased by another
acceptable tenant. Tenant shall also be and remain liable for any expense incidental to re-leasing,
cleaning costs beyond normal wear and tear, trash removal, painting costs, utilities, or any other
damages and costs which Landlord has sustained by virtue of Tenant's use and occupancy of the
Premises or default under this Agreement.
9. DEFAULT: If Tenant fails to pay the Rent when due, or any part thereof, or fails to fulfill any of
the covenants or agreements herein specified to be fulfilled by Tenant, Landlord may:
(a) Bring an action in Forcible Entry and Detainer for restitution of the Premises and may
sue for and recover all Rents and damages plus costs and reasonable legal fees; or
(b) Enforce its lien on the personal property stored in the Premises or on the proceeds of said
personal property in Landlord's possession.
(i) In the event of failure by Tenant to pay Rent within fifteen (15) days after due date,
Landlord may remove any and all personal property located in the Premises for the purpose
of selling same.
(ii) On or after the thirtieth (30th) day following the Rent Due Date, Landlord will first
attempt to sell any and all of said personal property at public sale. If not sold at public sale,
any and all items of said personal property will then be sold at private sale, or will be
disposed of and / or destroyed by Landlord.
The individuals executing this Agreement represent and warrant that they are fully authorized and
legally capable of executing this Agreement and that such execution is binding upon each party.
This Agreement was executed this _________ day of __________________, 20_______ in one or
more counterparts which, taken together, shall constitute one agreement.
LANDLORD
____________________________
TENANT
___________________________