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In law, to distinguish a case means a court decides the holding or legal reasoning of a precedent case will not apply due to materially different facts between the two cases.

Facts are the “who, when, what, where, and why” of the case. Describe the history of the dispute, including the events that led to the lawsuit, the legal claims and defenses of each party, and what happened in the trial court.

Conclusion - What was the final outcome? This discusses the result of the application/analysis of the law to the facts used to resolve the issue(s). The conclusion is known as the court's holding or decision.

A comprehensive brief includes the following elements: Title and Citation. Facts of the Case. Issues. Decisions (Holdings) Reasoning (Rationale) Separate Opinions. Analysis.

What is a case brief? A case brief is an analysis summary of a legal argument. This document, which legal professionals sometimes refer to as a case summary or legal brief, states a party's legal argument in a court case in a comprehensible way. Mostly, this document is for one's own reference.

Every brief should include, at a minimum, the facts of the case, the legal issue, the legal principle applied in the case, the holding and reasoning of the majority, and a summary of any concurrences and dissents. Your brief should not exceed 600 words, excluding concurrences and dissents.

When reading a case you should be noting various pieces of information, in particular: the case name; the citation; the court deciding the case; what was the issue in the case; what decision did the court reach in the case; and how did the court arrive at its decision.

A case brief is a summary of a reported decision. A well-written case brief will simplify and condense the reported case. The holding is the court's answer to the issue. The rules section of a good case brief includes all of the law cited by the court.