Katco Case Brief Example

[Erin Lain]

I tried to define words that you might not understand in parenthesis.

Katco v. Briney
Supreme Court of Iowa, 1971

Facts: D set up a 20- gauge shot gun in a bedroom of an uninhabited
farm house. He aimed it for an intruder’s legs/feet. P broke in to
steal old bottles. P sued D for damages relating to the injury he
incurred when the shotgun went off. His leg was basically blown away.
At trial, the jury awarded P $20,000 in actual damages, and $10,000 in
punitive (punishment) damages. P made a motion for judgment
notwithstanding the verdict (asked for the judge to overrule the
decision of a jury and reverse or amend their verdict). The presiding
judge overruled the motion, and now the case has gone on appeal to the
Supreme Court.

Issue: Can an owner protect personal property (an unoccupied boarded-
up farm house) against trespassers and thieves by a spring gun capable
of inflicting death or serious injury?

Analysis: The value of human life and limb outweighs the interest of a
possessor of land when it comes to possessions, like land or chattel
(item of tangible movable or immovable property). (The court cites the
jury instructions, the restatement of Torts, and Allison v. Fiscus, an
Ohio case)

Holding: An owner may not use force that is capable of inflicting
death or serious injury when protecting personal property.

Question:

Now I want you to imagine test day, and below is questions number 1 on
your torts exam:

1. Brittany lives in a dangerous neighborhood in Somewhere, IA. She
just bought a beautiful 2010 3 series BMW. In order to protect her car
from theft she plants a razor sharp, 10 inch knife in the driver’s
seat. Anyone who tries to drive it will be stabbed in the back, unless
they disarm the system (which only she knows how to do). Robby sees
this car and wants it. He easily picks the locks and gets in. when he
hotwires the car, the knife springs forward stabbing him in the back.
He later dies in the hospital. His estate sues Brittany for damages.
Discuss the legal issues.

How would you analyze this test question? (Remember to use the “facts,
issue, analysis, conclusion” method)

[Erin Lain]

Oh, and its Katko and not Katco... shows you how much attention I pay
to detail ;)