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Lansford-Coaldale Joint Water Authority v. Tonolli Corp.
When judges sit as triers of fact, either in a trial without a jury or when finding facts for, say, a preliminary injunction motion or a motion to dismiss for lack of personal or subject matter jurisdiction, the judge must follow certain procedures. For example, Fed. R. Civ. P. 52 provides that the court "must find the facts specially and state its conclusions of law separately." At least three policy considerations support this requirement: it (1) facilitates appellate review, (ii) makes application of the preclusion doctrine (covered later in the course) easier, and (iii) compels the trial judge to exercise greater care in making decisions.
On the last point, how much care must a judge take in making findings of fact and conclusions of law? The next case concerns this question.
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