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 New Jersey, an agreed case, also known as a case stated or stipulated facts case, is a legal procedure where both parties in a lawsuit 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, thereby focusing on the legal issues at hand. When the parties agree on the facts, they prepare a written statement, known as a narrative statement of the agreed facts, which is then submitted to the court. The court's role is to apply the law to these facts and render a decision. If either party decides to appeal the decision, the narrative statement of agreed facts is presented to the appellate court. This approach streamlines the appellate review process, as the appellate court does not need to consider the trial court record but instead focuses on the application of law to the agreed-upon facts.