LEGAL DISPUTE

-exists when one party complains of

a violation of his right by another,
who on the other hand, denies such
a violation.
-akin to a CAUSE OF ACTION in civil
suit in which the defendant denies
the claim against him.
Illustration
A tenant renting an apartment allegedly could
not pay the agreed rents yet refuses to leave
his unit
Is there a legal dispute?
What?


1) The apartment owners claim that the tenant
fails to pay the agreed monthly rents yet
refuses to leave his unit and;
2) The tenants denial of the claim

You have here a right protected by law, an
alleged violation of such right, and a denial
of the allegation.

Q1: What is the nature of the right being claimed in order for a legal
dispute to arise?
Q.1.A: A Filipino claims that he deserves to be allowed to travel to the
US. Can he file a lawsuit to compel the US Embassy to issue him the
VISA required for entry into that country?
Q.1.B: Juan demands that Filipino rather than English be made the
medium of instruction in all levels of education. Is there a legal
dispute?
Q.1.C: What is the legal dispute when a person allegedly refuses to pay
his debt?
In criminal cases, the legal dispute consists in the Senates claim
that accused has violated its right to compel obedience to its laws
and in the latters denial of the claim at his arraignment.
Q.1.D: Pedro defrauds Juan by selling a fake Rolex watch to him for the
price of a genuine one?

A1: It must be a legal right since courts will uphold and vindicate
only those rights that are established or recognized by law.
A.1.A: No, as Philippine laws do not grant him that right.
A.1.B: There is no legal dispute since it does not involve an actual
violation of some right. The controversy, although of public
interest, will not be resolved by litigation but by legislative
action.
A.1.C: The creditors claim that the debtor unjustly refuses to pay
his debt under a promissory note that he issued in favor of
the creditor, and the debtors denial of such claim.
A.1.D: The States charge that the accused defrauded the
complainant by selling a fake Rolex watch to him for the price
of a genuine one; and the accused denial of the charge.


Significance of Legal Dispute in Legal
Writing
- It is the HEART of every case subject of legal
writing as the resolution of the legal dispute
puts an end to litigation.
-failure to identify the correct legal dispute will
lead to having difficulty finding a way to solve
or address it. You will be arguing on
something that has nothing to do with
resolving the case. A futile attempt to end the
litigation.
Legal Dispute vis--vis Principal Issue
A legal dispute recast in the format of an issue, becomes the
PRINCIPAL ISSUE in every case. How is this accomplished?
You just have to add the phrase WHETHER OR NOT

1. whether or not the tenant fails to pay the monthly rents
yet refuses to leave his unit
2. whether or not the debtor unjustly refuses to pay his
debt under a promissory note that he issued in favor of
the creditor
3. whether or not the accused defrauded the complainant
by selling a fake Rolex watch to him for the price of a
genuine one
What is the legal dispute and the
principal issue?
X, a building official issues to the owner an
occupancy permit for a building with
INADEQUATE fire exits.
LD: (1) the complainants claim that
respondent building official issued to the
owner an occupancy permit for a building
with inadequate fire exits in violation of
Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 and; (2) the
respondents denial of that claim.
PI: whether or not respondent building
official issued to the owner an occupancy
permit covering a building with inadequate
fire exits in violation of Section 3(e) of
Republic Act 3019
Importance of Principal Issue
The case will be decided FOR or AGAINST you based on
the principal issue raised.
The argument of the parties will be founded on and
usually revolves around the principal issue.
Ease in crafting your arguments in order to persuade
your reader to accept your point of view.
You get to save time as you were able to identify the
correct issue, considering that sometimes a particular
problem poses several issues. The strength of your
arguments will largely depend on its relevance to the
correct principal issue. Otherwise, your work will be
useless.
Stages of Writing
Pre-work
Look at the facts and evidence of the case
(interviews of the persons involved in the problem
or from related documents that require sorting)
Dates are often mixed up, if it is a new case
If it is one which has already undergone trial, your
sources will be the transcript of testimonies of
witnesses and the documentary exhibits
presented in the case [affidavit-complaint;
affidavit of witnesses, etc.]
Things to consider when doing your
pre-work:
Establish where the legal dispute lies in the
case;
Discover its relevant facts;
Know the laws or rules that apply to it;
Identify the issue/s that you would want to
address;
Rough out the arguments that you would use
Stages of Writing
Write-up
Putting up flesh, color and shape in your legal
writing
Transform your sketches and outlines into a full
draft of the paper required of you --- a pleading, a
legal opinion, a petition, a comment, a
memorandum, a position paper, or even a
decision
Completed by editing and rewriting
Getting at the Facts of the Case
This is the initial phase of pre-work: getting the facts
right
When studying the facts of a case, do not leave then
until you have come to a complete understanding of
what the case is about from every angle
Do not stop unless and until you can show your client
that you know more about his case than he does
Almost always, a lawyer who casually read the facts
from the source materials without truly understanding
and absorbing their contents short-changes his client
You will end up even more confused than your client
and you definitely do not want this.
Random notes vs. Summary
Make short random notes of the facts of the case that you
consider important as you go over them. But bear in mind
that purely random notes do not give you the complete
picture.
Chances are, they are uncorrelated; hence, useful only for
work done in one sitting. The next you read your random
notes, you will have a hard time stitching the events that
you will have to go over the facts again in order to get the
correct meaning of the words/ terms you used. In a way,
you wasted more time than you can even afford to waste.
What you need is SYSTEMATICALLY PREPARED NOTES that
adequately capture the entire factual terrain of the case,
with the important points properly marked out.
The remedy for this dilemma is: SUMMARIZING
You can best understand and absorb written
materials when you summarize their contents.
Your summary serves as a detailed map in your
hand, able to guide you in negotiating your way
through the dispute involved.
In summarizing, you have to decide whether you
need that fact or not. Better still, you ask this
question, What is the significance of this fact to
this case?
Your facts must be seen through the issue:
go over the materials very quickly and
determine the principal issue/s invloved
Only when you have an idea of what the
principal issue is, could you make a good job
of extracting the relevant facts from your
materials.
Take this case for example: The Beers War
After reading the problem, students must be
able to tell what the case is all about in ONE
SENTENCE --- The case is about
Answer
The case is about the lawsuit that the
restaurant owner filed against San Manuel
Brewery for the injury he suffered in the
hands of an outraged customer whom he
served with a pest-laden bottle of beer.
How do you make a complete
summary from raw data?
Take out the non-essential facts from your
written materials like contracts, deeds, letters,
records, books, testimonies, or sworn
statements.
Cross out those non-essential facts, leaving
only the essential ones on the page of each
document or paper.
Activity 1
The particular number of the ordinance involved
The particular number of the section of the
ordinance
Particular place where it was enacted
All these are NOT RELEVANT to the constitutionality of
the ordinance
Superfluous details:
- If the lots taken were to be for charity burial, it
would be superfluous to say that it would benefit
pauper residents
- The phrase no permit to establish, operate, and
maintain are superfluous to operate assumes these
two terms
Section 10 of Ordinance No. 105 of Tagaytay City
provides that at least 5% of the total area of any
memorial park established within its jurisdiction shall
be set aside for charity burial of its pauper residents
and that no permit to establish, operate, and maintain
a private memorial park shall be granted without the
applicants conformity or agreeing to such condition.
-identify the facts that are essential to your
understanding of the issues in the case, and put those
facts in your outline.
-thus, the facts should read like this:
The ordinance requires memorial parks to give
away to the poor 5% of their land area as a condition
to being granted permits to operate.
Cluttered Facts
Transcript of Stenographic Notes
-Rape case
Extracting relevant facts
1) Identify the legal dispute involved in the above
case
a) the governments charge that Ronald raped
Julia and;
b) Ronalds denial of the charge
2) Rewrite the legal dispute in the format of an
issue to produce your principal issue then put
down this issue in bold print, and place it right
before you as you do your summarizing
Facts set in sequence
It is equally important that you put the events
in the order of their occurrence
When the sequence of the events is in
disarray, with the subsequent events told
ahead of preceding ones or with frequent
flashbacks to the past as the story unfolds,
you are likely to get confused.
You will be looking at items of facts that are
out of the context or detached from their
surrounding circumstances.




In the Rape case, just spot the point where
Julias story logically begins then arrange it
according to their occurrence until you reach
the end of her story.

Benefits derived from arranging the
facts in proper order or sequence:
1) The facts are easier to understand when put in
the order of time because they follow a natural
order of flow.
Actual human experience occurs in the order of
time where one event follows another with the
ticking of the hour.
A story that jumps ahead, goes back to a
previous event, and then returns to resume its
advance where it temporarily dropped off is
unnatural. It can be quite confusing. The human
mind is not at ease with such a manner of story
telling.
2) When facts are arranged in the proper order,
you would clearly see how each fact relates to
or connects with others.
Each fact acquires deeper significance when
viewed along with related facts.
3) When the factual versions of either side are
put in order and matched, you would also be
able to see clearly the areas where the
respective versions agree and disagree.
This will furnish you with a balanced
appreciation of each opposing claim.
4) Facts, properly arranged, prepare you for the
work of writing up the facts of the case in your
pleading or memorandum.
5) You can create a compact index to the facts of
the case, including the testimonies and the
documents you work on.

With your compact summary, you do not have to
re-read your voluminous materials each time you
want to be reminded of the important details of
the case.
Your summary will be your map in guiding you
through out the course of trial of the case and
during appeal.
Writing Exercise

Sort out the rest of the testimonies in the
rape case, make a summary of the
relevant facts, and arrange them in order.
Knowing the Applicable Law or Rule
Sources of law or rule
1) Statute law: laws and rules enacted by duly
constituted rule-making authorities like Congress
(RAs and BPs), the President (PDs and EOs), the
Supreme Court (Rules of Court), local government
councils (City or Municipal Ordinances), and
administrative regulatory agencies (IRRs).
2) Case law: decisions of courts and persons or
agencies performing judicial functions. These
decisions interpret and apply statute law to specific
situations. The rulings become legal precedents that,
when invariably affirmed and used, become part of
the law itself.
How to locate the right law and legal
precedents?
1)Identify the general nature of the legal
dispute involved.
-our rape case is a crime involving chastity (rape
provision of the RPC and its amendments)
2) Search for legal precedents that have more or less
parallel facts.
3) At times, it is also useful that you use some rules
that derive from the wisdom of common
experience. This is especially useful in resolving
factual issues.



Match the applicable laws or rules with the
relevant facts of your case and you are ready
to work on your arguments.
Facts reexamined

Having discovered the laws or rules that apply
to your case, you should now be in a better
position to review your summary of facts and
add to it other relevant facts that you may
have omitted. You could also subtract from
your summary those facts that now appear
irrelevant to the applicable laws or rules and
precedents that you have discovered.
Writing Exercises
1) Go back to the case on the dogs attack of a
little girl. Check out and copy the laws or the
rules that should properly govern them.

2) Check out too those parallel cases that the
Supreme Court has previously decided. See if
the rulings and doctrines established in these
cases could be cited against you or to your
work advantage. Put them all on paper as
part of your pre-work.
Getting into the Issues
Here, you have to pinpoint the specific issues
that the conflicting claims of the parties
present and to put those issues down in
writing.
Everything you write --- the facts, the law, the
argument, and the relief --- must take bearing
on those issues.
You write aimlessly when you are unable to
understand the issues in your case or are
unable to hold on to it.
Issues in multiple legal disputes
Common in civil suits/ cases where there
could be as many legal disputes as there are
claims for violations of separate rights of the
parties.

You should address each of the principal
issues that the several legal disputes present.
Example:
In a lawsuit, X, a music composer, claims that
his friend Y appropriated as his own and sold
to a record company a song that he (X) had
created.
Y claimed that X maligned him as a thief of IP.
He alleged that it was X who stole his work.
Q:What are the legal dispute/s?
Q: What is the controlling issue?
Answer:
1) Ys denial of the claim by X;
2) Ys claim that X maligned him as a thief of IP
and the denial by X of such allegation;
3) Claim by Y that it was actually X who tried to
steal the song from him and Xs denial of
such allegation
4) Ys claim that the lawsuit was malicious and
Xs denial of this claim
CI: whether or not X, or Y, created the song
Subordinate controlling issue/s
The resolution of the PS in the case depends on how a
subordinate issue raised in connection with its is resolved.
e.g. The resolution of WON the tenant has violated the lease
by not paying the rent might depend on the subordinate issue
of WON the rent may be deemed paid by the set off of the
lessors separate debt to the tenant.
A tenant who did not pay the rents, because he has in the
meantime acquired ownership of the apartment from the
bank that foreclosed the mortgage on it. The subordinate
issue would be whether or not the tenant subsequently
acquired ownership of the leased property.
Note that in these instances, the subordinate issues have
become the controlling issues that would decide the outcome
of the case.
Example:
O relying on advertisements about the benefits to
women of facial cream called Maxim bought the cream
from a supermarket and used it. She developed rashes
that left scars on her face. She sued Maxim & Co., the
manufacturer of the cream, for damages.
The company invoked the small prints on the label of
the cream container that warned possible allergy in the
use of the cream. Since every consumer has the right
to buy only safe products from cosmetic
manufacturers, O claims that the company violated this
right when it sold to her a facial cream that harmed her
face. Maxim denies this claim, however, it stated that O
has been forewarned of possible allergy and that she
accepted the risk when she bought and used the
cream.
PI: whether or not Maxim violated Os right to
be sold only safe products.
SI: whether or not Maxim has the right to
market cosmetic products that could cause
harmful allergy to some, provided that the
product label discloses this risk.
Relevant vs. Irrelevant Issues
Q: Must you discuss all the factual issues raised by
the conflicting claims of the parties?
A: No, since NOT ALL issues raised in a case merit
discussion and resolution; Only relevant issues
matter.
Thus, relevant issues are those that when
resolved determine the outcome of the legal
dispute in a particular case.
Irrelevant issues are those that have no value in a
case even if they are debated and resolved since
they are of no consequence to the outcome of
the legal dispute.
Why is it important to know if the
issue is relevant or not?
1) Your discussion of irrelevant issues would
produce no advantage and might weaken
your position in the case.

2) If you make a mistake and drop a relevant
issue, you might be forfeiting that issue to
your clients loss.
When is there an issue?
When the contending parties do not agree on
a given point.
To spot the issue, all you have to do is to
compare the facts and the laws that the two
sides claim and identify the areas of their
disagreement. Although it is equally important
to take note of what the parties agree on.
Rape Case
Areas of disagreement:
1) WON Ronald was Julias suitor; (SI)
2) WON Julia ignored him at the party because she
disliked him; (II)
3) WON she walked home alone from the party;
4) WON Ronald caught up with her on the rice field
and grabbed her;
5) WON Ronald raped Julia, employing force and
intimidation and; (DOMINANT ISSUE)
6) WON Julia was prompted by a genuine desire for
justice in filing the charge of rape against Ronald

Factual and Legal Issues
An issue is factual when the contending
parties cannot agree that a thing exists or has
actually happened.
An issue is legal when the contending parties
assume a thing exists or has actually
happened but disagree on its legal significance
or effect on their rights.
Correct Statement of the Issues
1) Use the introductory words, whether or
not, as you are automatically incorporating
the opposing views, the positive and
negative, into one statement of the issue.
It makes for a fair statement of the issue.
2) The issues to be tried and decided are best
defined in terms of those affirmative claims.
This is because the plaintiff or the accuser in
a case always bears the burden of proving
the affirmative of his or her claims.
Except:
When the defendant, respondent, or the
accused in the case admits the facts
constituting the claim against him but raises a
defense that exempts him from liability under
it.
3) The statement of the issue must be fair, not
slanted in favor of a party.
4) The statement of the issue should also be
comprehensive, leaving no relevant point
outside its embrace.
5) The statement of the issue must be specific
and clear.
6) Try at all times to capture in your statement
of the issue, the gist or essence of the
specific violation of right that the defendant
committed.

Threshold Issues
These are issues that could slam the door to any
judicial consideration of the case on the merits.
These are issues that concerns matters of
procedure
Lack of jurisdiction
Wrong venue
Not real-party-in-interest
Action prescribed
The resolution of these issues and similar others takes
precedence over the main legal disputes.
Roughing out the Argument
You persuade someone to accept your opinion
or point of view
Your presentation must consider the structure
of a balanced thesis presentation:
1) A clear statement of your thesis or where you
stand on the issue to be resolved;
2) The arguments that can be made against your
position but with an explanation that those
arguments do not doom such position;
3) The arguments in favor of your position;
4) An appeal to the good sense of the person/s
who will resolve the issue.
Use of the Balance Sheet Format
(Where You Stand on the Issue)
Ronald did not rape Julia
Arguments against You Arguments in Your Favor
Vaginal lacerations usually found in rape
victims were found in Julia

As a virgin, Julia could have lacerations
during consented sex
Appeal to Your Readers Good Sense
What is an argument?
An argument is a reason you offer to prove your thesis or
proposition.
This is where your knowledge of categorical syllogism is
important.
e.g. major premise: All men are mortal.
minor premise: Jose is a man.
conclusion: Jose is mortal.
The major premise is a statement of a generally accepted
rule or truth. The minor premise is a statement that brings
a particular thing or individual within the class covered by
the generally accepted rule or truth. The conclusion is a
statement that follows after the major and minor
premises, deducing that the generally accepted rule or
truth applies to the particular thing or individual.
e.g. People who lie cannot be believed.
Armando lied in his testimony.
Therefore, he cannot be believed.
Here is an example based on common experience
where the witness can be discredited in this
manner.

Thus, you need to understand that every sound
legal argument is a combination of the RIGHT
RULE and the RIGHT FACT.
e.g. Crossing the red light is punishable by law. - rule
Jose crossed the red light. - fact
Therefore, Jose should be punished by law -
conclusion
The above argument consists of three
statements: the RULE STATEMENT, the CASE
FACT STATEMENT, and CONCLUSION
STATEMENT.

Note that the rule statement has a fact
component. This is logical since all rules
identify the facts on which they will operate or
apply. The fact component in a rule statement
is called KEY FACT. It is a key fact because its
presence in the case opens up such case to
the application of the rule.
Crossing the red light is punishable by law. But
crossing the yellow light does not amount to
crossing the red light. David actually crossed a
yellow light. Therefore, David cannot be punished
by law.
The key fact on which the general rule operates is
crossing the red light. But this is not found in
the particular case of David for he actually
crossed a yellow light. Consequently, the
punishment due to persons who cross the red
lights does not apply to David. His crossing a
yellow light repels the operation of the law,
producing a negative conclusion.

Summary-applicable to both positive
and negative arguments
Rule statement a statement of a rule that
applies to a given fact or set of facts;
Case Fact statement the statement of the
fact of a particular case that opens up such
case or closes it to the application of the rule;
and
Conclusion statement the conclusion that
the rule applies or not to the particular case
Case fact
Q: Is it the rule that dictates what the fact of a
particular case ought to be or is it the fact of the
case that dictates what the rule ought to be?
A:
Things to do when preparing an argument:
1) Begin by ascertaining the fact/s of your case;
2) Check out the fact/s against whatever rule is
proposed to govern them.
Note however that facts are facts and you
cannot alter them.
However, putting on together the correct facts
of a case can be difficult because the evidence
of those facts of a case can be difficult since
those facts can be marred:
1) by the witness bias;
2) by human error in observing them;
3) by lack of ability to communicate what one
observed and;
4) by a motive to lie.


Rule
Includes:
1) constitutional provisions;
2) statutory provisions;
3) Rules of Court provisions;
4) Case laws or judicial precedents;
5) Widely accepted truths that derive from
logic, common sense, or even common
experience.
Use of the Balance Sheet Format
(Where You Stand on the Issue)
Ronald did not rape Julia
Arguments against You Arguments in Your Favor
Because women will rarely admit to
having been raped unless true, a rape
victims testimony can stand alone
But not when the womans testimony, like
that of Julia, is inherently incredible
Absence of bruises on her body despite
rough grounds negates rape by the use of
force
Being a barrio woman, it is likely that
someone like Ronald walked her home at
that late hour.
Appeal to Your Readers Good Sense
It is but fair that testimony inconsistent with common
experience is not believed.
Creative thinking as last logical resort
Be sure that your mind gets all the data and
inputs about the case that your source
materials would yield.
Pose the problem to you mind. e.g. How can I
prove that Ronald did not rape Julia?
Forget about the case.
Take time out and let your subconscious mind do
the work. Go to sleep. You will be surprised that
the answer will pop out of your head in the
middle of what you are doing. Be prepared to jot
it down immediately.
Arguments that build up
The favorable testimony comes from a
credible witness.
The testimonies of those who are involved in the
case or their relatives and friends are often
regarded as partisan. Those with no bias, one way
or the other, are excellent witnesses.
The partys version is inherently credible and
consistent with common experience.
The truth of narrative stories is often judged by
its compatibility with common experience.
All the elements or requisites of a valid claim
or defense have been proved. Some laws
prescribe factual elements or requisites in
order for claims or defenses to be operative.
You make a good argument when you prove
that you have established them all.
Arguments that destroy
The argument raised is irrelevant.
When it does not help resolve the issue/s one way or the other.
e.g. Ronald is immoral and irresponsible because he refuses to
marry Julia even when he admits that he took her innocence
from her.
Is this argument irrelavant? Why?
The argument has little weight given the other
considerations in the case.
Here, you assume that your opponent has made a valid
argument but you hasten to state that other considerations
outweigh that argument.
Ronalds failure to see Julias parents to explain his side shows
his guilt.
You can counter and say, that failure can be explained. Their
sons would have killed Ronald if he immediately went to see
them after their daughter cried rape.
The argument is baseless.
A claim made with no fact to support it is baseless.
e.g. Julia is a good, innocent girl who would not cry
rape if it were untrue. You would say, it is baseless and
since there is no evidence to show that she is good
and innocent.
The argument is contrary to common experience.
As a rule, claims that go against ordinary human
experience are bizarre and cannot be believed.
e.g. Julia was not afraid to walk home alone through
empty rice fields near midnight.
You can say, that is unbelievable, no woman in her
right mind will do that.
The argument is inconsistent with undeniable
facts.
No assertion can defeat facts that cannot lie.
e.g. Julia wasted no time to file her complaint against
Ronald.
You say, The record shows that she showed up at the
police station two days after the alleged rape.
The argument is inconsistent with a prior claim.
- Persons who say one thing now and another
thing later cannot be relied on to tell the truth.
- e.g. Julia testified that Ronald was her suitor, you
say, she once admitted to a friend that she was
his sweetheart.


Pre-work Reviewed
Summary of the steps:
1) Ascertain the legal dispute
2) Make an outline of the relevant facts.
3) Identify the issues.
4) Rough out the argument.