An agreed case is a procedure that can be used in rare situations in which the parties to a lawsuit agree on the facts and disagree on the relevant law as applied to the facts. In such a case the parties stipulate to the facts, file a narrative statement of the agreed facts, and submit the case to the court for a ruling.
If a case submitted on an agreed statement of facts is appealed, the narrative statement of facts stipulated to by the parties is filed with the appellate court (often the court of appeals) rather than the trial court record (a transcript of the trial that includes witness testimony and documents admitted in evidence).
In Montana, an agreed case, also known as a case submitted on an agreed statement of facts, is a legal procedure where the disputing parties concur on the factual aspects of the case but seek a judicial determination on the legal questions involved. This process allows the parties to bypass the need for a trial to establish the facts and instead focus on the application of law to those facts. When the parties reach an agreement on the facts, they prepare a narrative statement of the agreed facts and submit this along with their legal arguments to the court. The court then makes a ruling based on the legal issues presented. Should the case be appealed, the agreed statement of facts is sent to the appellate court, which may be the Montana Supreme Court or another designated appellate court, instead of the trial court record. This procedure is relatively uncommon and is typically used in situations where the legal issues are clear-cut and the facts are undisputed.