Case names for full citationsCase names for short citations

Part 2 of the Legal Methods Lecture SeriesBy Deborah Gordon

Case Names - Introduction

Use the full case citation, including the full case name, the first time that you refer to the authority.

The Components of a Full Case Citation

Bluepages Rule 5.1:Name of the casePublished source in which it may be foundParenthetical indicating the court and year of decisionOther parenthetical information, if any (the “explanatory

parenthetical”)Subsequent history of the case, if any

Underline the Case Name

The name of a case must be set off, either by underlining or italics.

The case name is followed by a comma, which is not underlined or italicized.Example:

Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. McCarson, 467 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 1985).

Party Names in Case Names

A full case name consists of only the first-listed party on either side of the “v.” Example:

Dow Jones & Co. v. Harrods, Ltd. Not: Dow Jones & Company, Inc., Plaintiff, v.

Harrods, Limited and Mohamed Al Fayed, Defendants

Party Names – Rules for Individuals

For individuals, use only the last name (surname) of the party and omit the given name and any initials.Example:

Spiller v. Ware Not: Martin D. Spiller v. Elliot A. Ware and

Randle S. Scott

Two Exceptions for Using Individuals’ SurnamesIf an individual’s name is part of a business name, use the

full name. Example:

Tanya Bartucz, Inc. v. Virginia J. Wise & Co.

If an individual’s surname is abbreviated in the case name, include the initial in your citation:Example:

Linda R.S. v. Richard D.

Multiple Parties

Omit words indicating multiple parties, such as “et al.”;Omit any alternative names.Example:

Cheng v. Seinfeld Not: Cheng et al. v. Seinfeld d/b/a The Man, Inc.

Including or Omitting “The”

• Omit “The” as the first word of a party’s name, except as otherwise provided in Bluebook Rule 10.2.1(d).• Example:

• Miami Herald v. Sercus

Geographical Terms in Case NamesOmit certain geographical terms, such as “State of,”

“Commonwealth of,” and “People of,” except when citing to decisions of courts of that state or commonwealth.

In other words, if a state like New Jersey is a plaintiff in a state court, your cite would be State v. Jones because the citation will reference New Jersey either in the reporter or the parenthetical. If New Jersey is a party in federal court, your cite would be New Jersey v. Jones because neither the reporter nor the parenthetical will tell the reader “which state?” Other Examples:

Commonwealth v. Ferrone, 448 A.2d 637 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1982). Blystone v. Pennsylvania, 494 U.S. 299 (1990).

Other Geographical Terms

Omit “City of,” “County of,” “Village of,” “Township of,” and similar expressions unless a party’s name begins with them. Example:

Mayor of New York v. Clinton Not: Mayor of the City of New York v. Clinton But: Butts v. City of Boston

Other Geographical Terms

Omit all prepositional phrases of location unless the omission would leave only one word in the name of a party:

Example:Surrick v. Board of Wardens Not: Surrick v. Board of Wardens of the Port of Philadelphia Shapiro v. Bank of Harrisburg Eimers v. Mutual of Omaha

Business or Entity Names

Omit business firm designations, such as Inc., Ltd., and L.L.C., if the name also contains a word such as Ass’n, Bros., Co., Corp., and R.R., clearly indicating that the party is a business.

Example:Wisconsin Packing Co. v. Indiana Refrigerator Lines, Inc. Not: Wisconsin Packing Co., Inc. v. Indiana Refrigerator

Lines, Inc.

Consolidated Cases

If the case is a consolidation of two or more actions, cite only the first listed:Example:

Shelley v. Kraemer Not: Shelley v. Kraemer, McGhee v.

Sipes

Procedural Phrases

Certain procedural phrases should be abbreviated in case names (and omit all but the first procedural phrase).

Examples:“On the relation of,” “on behalf of,” and “as the next friend

of” are abbreviated to ex rel., “In the matter of” and “application of” are abbreviated to

In re.

More on Procedural PhrasesInclude any introductory or descriptive phrases such as

“Accounting of,” “Estate of,” and “Will of.” Example:

In re Will of Holt Estate of Haas v. Commissioner

Abbreviations

Certain words must be abbreviated in case names. For example, abbreviate widely known acronyms (e.g.,

NAACP).Abbreviate the following 8 words unless they begin a

party’s name:Ass’n, &, Bros., Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd., and No.

Tables 6 and 10 contain other common abbreviations.Never abbreviate “United States” when it is a named

party.

Case Names – Short Forms

When using only one party name in a short form citation, use the name of the first party, unless that party is a geographical or governmental unit or other common litigant.Examples:

Collins v. Brown, . . . becomes Collins, but… United States v. Francis, . . . becomes Francis, . .

You may also shorten a long party name, for example from First Nat’l Trust & Inv. Corp. to First Nat’l, so long as the reference remains unambiguous.

Are we there yet?

Lots of rules – remember what is important!Communicate to your readerBuild or preserve your reputation