1L Property Outline COMPLETE PDF

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Summary

Complete Property outline for fall 2020 course....

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Acquisition of Property by Discovery & Acquisition of Capture Acquisition of Property ●

Types of Property -○ Real property: Movable ○ Personal property: Not movable; anything attached to the land (even structure that is built) ■ Tangible: Physical assets or property. ■ In-tangible: Non-physical assets that have monetary value.

Acquisition by Discovery ★ Johnson v. M’Intosh (Native Americans) ○ Facts: Multiple parties were laying claim to the same land. Each acquire title w/ different transaction -- Johnson = Native Americans; M’Intosh = US ○ Rule: Discovery of land gives exclusive rights to settle, possess, and govern the new land. ○ Issue: Can the title from the Native Americans to Johnson be recognized as valid? ○ Holding: No. ● Absolute title to land cannot exist at the same time in different persons or governments. ● Dominion v. Occupancy ○ Right to Occupancy: Right to be on the land, but not to sell. ○ Dominion: Ownership of property in the largest sense; title and possession ● Principle of First Possession: Ownership of something is justified simply by someone seizing it first. ● Discovery or Conquest? ○ Discovery: The sighting or fighting of unknown or uncharted territory. ○ Conquest: The taking of possession fo enemy territory through force, followed by formal annexation of the defeated territory by the conqueror.

Acquisition by Capture ★ Pierson v. Post (fox capture) ○ Issue: Does pursuit of a wild animal give property rights to the pursuer? ○ Holding: No. Pursuit alone is not sufficient. ● Constructive possession: Landowner is considered to be in possession of something on or in their land even if no physical possession. ● Mere pursuit does not constitute property right of the animal; mortal wounding = property right.

★ Keeble v. Hickeringill (duck pond & trade)

○ Issue: Can Keeble sue Hickeringill for affecting his trade (and future profits?) ○ Holding: Yes. Property owner has right to use property for profit w/o malice interference. ● Interference w/ trade is illegal; person will be liable for interference w/ commercial property. ★ Popov v. Hayashi (Barry Bonds homerun) ○ Issue: Did Popov achieve possession when he attempted to catch the ball? ○ Holding: Significant, but incomplete steps to obtain (due to unlawful acts) = pre-possessory interest; qualified right to possession which can support cause of action for conversion ● Equity: Principle of applied fairness between all involved. ● Conversion: The wrongful exercise of dominion over the personal property of another; If a person entitled to possession demands its return, unjustified refusal to do so is conversion.

Fugitive Resources ● ●

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Oil and gas: Surface owner above natural reservoirs is free to pump; not owned by anyone until reduced to physical possession (pumped and retrieved); slant drilling = trespass Surface water: ○ Doctrine of Riparianism: Water belongs to person whose land borders a body of water; each riparian owner has a right to use the water subject to the rights of other riparian owners. ○ Prior application: Before 1919, a person could acquire surface water right by applying water to beneficial use. Groundwater: ○ Wasteful uses of capture groundwater are unreasonable and unlawful.

Right to Exclude ●

Individuals have a legal right to exclude others from private property regardless of reason. Jacque v. Steenberg Homes (civil trespass on land) ○ Issue: Can punitive damages be awarded w/o compensatory damages in intentional trespass cases? ○ Holding/Reasoning: Yes. Jury may award punitive damages when there are only nominal damages and no compensatory damages. ● Nominal damages: Small sum that is awarded when injury is suffered, but no substantial loss -usually $1. ● Punitive damages; Damages assessed by way of penalizing the wrongdoer. ● Compensatory damages: $$$ awarded for damages to compensate for loss suffered. ● Private landowners should feel confident that trespassers will be punished. ● Civil trespass: Weren’t charged w/ crime but given ticket. ○ Mistaken entry can be civil trespass. ★ State v. Shack (migrant workers) ○ Issue: Can landowner refuse individuals who are there to give (private) aid to employees who are housed on land? ○ Holding/Reasoning: No. Cannot refuse officials who are providing government services. ● Criminal trespass: Defendant enter’s land knowing they lack privilege or refusing to leave; arrest and conviction. ● The right to exclude may not include “dominion over the destiny of persons the owner permits to come upon the premises.”

The Right to Destroy ★ Eyerman v. Mercantile Trust Co. (will wants to destroy property) ○ Neighbors can interfere w/ property provisions after death. ○ Seemingly destroying property for no reason is against public property. ● Overarching theme of preventing waste.

The Right to Publicity ★ White v. Samsung ○ Vanna White brought suit against Samsung who ran an advertisement that was similar to Wheel of Fortune/her ● Right of publicity prevents unauthorized commercial use of one’s name, likeness, and aspects of their “identity.” ● Celebrities are most commonly associated with this right. ● Any person whose name or likeness is used to sell products may claim this right. ● Use of name, likeness, or persona for new information or public interest is not violation.

★ Midler v. Ford -- Right of publicity extends to performer’s identifiable voice.

Introduction to Intellectual Property, Acquisition by Find & Adverse Possession Property in One’s Person ★ Moore v. Regents of California (leukemia cells) ○ Issue: Does Moore have cause of action against defendants who used cells in medical research w/o his possession? ○ Holding: Yes and no. To sustain a claim for conversion (our main concern), Moore must have retained an ownership interest in his cells. Court finds he had no ownership interest. Why? ■ CA law specifically limits continuing interest of patient after cells are removed. ■ Patented cell line and products derived from it (subject matter of patent) cannot be Moore’s property. Patent line and cells products are distinct from Moore’s cells. ○ Demurrer: Pleading stating facts may be true, but they are insufficient for claim. Now, “motion to dismiss.”

Intellectual Property Rights ●

3 core property interests: patents, copyright, trademarks

PATENTS ●

Rights prevent others from making, using, selling, etc., the invention during the term of the patent (20 years from date of application). ➔ 5 requirements for patent to be granted: ■ (1) Patentability (process, machine, manufacture, composition of any matter); (2) Novelty (not been preceded in identical form in public or prior art); (3) Utility (invention offers some actual benefit to humans); (4) Non-obvious (**most important; is invention a sufficiently big technical advance?); (5) Enablement (describe invention in sufficient detail) ○ Laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable ★ Diamond v. Chakrabaty (patent case for bacteria) ○ Issue: Is a human-made organism a patentable subject matter under 35 USC 101? ○ Holding: Yes.  Discovery was not nature’s handiwork but instead his own.

TRADEMARKS ★ Qualitex Co v. Jacobsen Products (trademark green color) ○ Issue: Does the Trademark Act (Lanham) permit the registration of trademark that consists purely of color? ○ Holding: Yes. ○ Shape, sound, and scent can be used as trademarks too.

Acquisition by Find ● ● ●

Chattel: Article of personal property; any species of property not amounting to a freehold or fee in land. Trover: Recovery of damages for wrongful taking of personal property. Bailment: The  rightful possession of goods by a person who is not t he owner. Creation requires that the bailee both intend to possess and actually possess the chattel. Voluntary or involuntary. ○ Bailor: Person who delivers the chattel.

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Bailee: Person who receives the chattel; has possession, but no title (e.g. valet)

TYPES OF FOUND PROPERTY ●

Lost property: Owner unintentionally and involuntarily parts with property through neglect and does not know where it is. ● Mislaid property: Property the owner voluntarily puts in a particular place, intending to retain ownership, but then fails to reclaim it or forgets where it’s left (e.g. sunglasses) ● Abandoned property: Property the owner intentionally and voluntarily relinquishes right, title and interest to. ● Treasure trove: Gold, silver, bouillon or money that has been intentionally concealed by an unknown owner for safekeeping in a private/secret place. Buried treasure? Landowner where it is found is awarded possession. ★ Armory v. Delamirie (chimney sweep/pawn shop) ○ Issue: Does finding an item entitle the finder to sue for its return when another party takes it from him? ○ Holding/Rule: Yes. Finders have greater rights to found property than anyone except the true owner. ○ Bailment = Goldsmith commits conversion when he doesn’t return the item. ● Finders are valuable to society; we reward honest finders. ★ Hannah v. Peel (soldier finds brooch) ○ Issue: Does the finder of lost chattel on another’s property have rights to that chattel superior to the rights of the property owner? ○ Holding/Reasoning: Yes. Peel had no knowledge or control over the brooch even though it was found in his house (which he never lived in) ○ What precedent cases apply here? 1) Armory, 2) Bridges (helped the most), 3) South Staffordshire, 4) Elwes

Introduction to Adverse Possession ● ●

A property owner may lose title to another person who possesses the property without the owner’s permission; based on the idea that we want land kept in productive use. Statute of limitations: Time frame set by legislation where affected parties need to take action to enforce rights or seek redress after injury or damage; after time frame, no legal action.

ELEMENTS OF ADVERSE POSSESSION -- CHOPA! ●

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Continuous and uninterrupted ○ Continuous, but not literally constant; can have periods of no use (e.g. beach house); true owner may interrupt statutory period by bringing ejectment action and re-entering the property. Hostile and adverse ○ Against the true owner/not w/ the true owner’s permission ➔ 3 tests of hostile and adverse: ● Objective test: Uses land as reasonable owner would use it (w/o permission from true owner) ● Good faith test: Must believe, in good faith, that they own the title to the land in question. ● Intentional trespass test: Know that they do not own the land and subjectively intend to take title from the true owner. Open and notorious ○ Acts of adverse possessor would put a reasonably attentive property owner on notice; consider if action would have been noticed by an ordinary person (e.g. living on land; building fences or other improvements; cultivating crops, etc.)

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Possession ○ Use may not be shared w/ owner or general public; property is in possession of trespasser alone ● Actual entry ○ Adverse possessor must physically use the panel of land in the same manner a reasonable owner woud. ● (Plus Statutory Time Period) ○ Must satisfy CHOPA for entire length of statutory time period; may have to fulfill other requirements too like paying taxes ★ Fulkerson v. Van Buren (church fixed up property next door) -- Hostile or adverse? ○ Issue: Was possession in this case hostile or adverse enough to satisfy CHOPA!? ○ Holding: No. The church congregation did not possess the land with the requisite hostile or adverse intent because they recognized the ownership right Fulkerson had to the land and thus did not adversely possess for seven years. ○ Van Buren never intended to hold the land adversely, mainly because he asked permission from Fulkerson (he recognized superior title of Fulkerson) ★ Hollander v. World Mission Church -- Boundary dispute. ○ Issue: May the mistake that the property is one’s own satisfy the requirement of hostile or adverse intent for purposes of adverse possession? ○ Holding: Yes. Mistake or belief may suffice. ■ Clear and convincing: Substantially more likely than not that it is true; higher standard of truth. ■ Preponderance of the evidence: Proposition is more likely true than not true; lower standard of truth.

Adverse Possession & Gifts; Introduction to Estates Adverse Possession Claims and Situations ●

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Normally arise in 2 main situations: ○ (1) Adverse possessor brings quiet title to confirm their title. ○ (1) Adverse possessor raises defense of a claim of adverse possession to a true owner’s lawsuit to recover possession. Normally not allowed against government owned land.

Adverse Possession and Disabilities ●

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Statute of limitations extended when unable to protect due to disability; will not run against true owner at start of adverse possession -- When disability provision applies, adverse possessor will not prevail even when they meet CHOPA! ○ Tolling: Time period when statute of limitations is paused/delayed Infancy, mental capacity, imprisonment or absence from the jurisdiction can all qualify as disabilities Disabilities may not be tacked; can’t use them as your own. Disabilities must exist at the beginning

Adverse Possession: Tacking ● ● ● ●

Quiet title action: Special legal proceeding to determine ownership of real property. Color of tile: A written instrument or other evidence that appears to establish title but not does. Tacking: Successive periods of adverse possession by different persons combined together to meet statute of limitations; only allowed when successive possessors are in privity w/ each other. Privity: A legal relationship between 2 parties based on contract, estate, or other lawful status, that confers certain right or remedies.

★ Howard v. Kuto (all the deeds were shifted) ○ Issue: 1) Is a claim of adverse possession defeated bc the physical use of the premises is restricted to summer occupancy? 2) What happens when the descriptions in deeds do not fit the lands the deed holders occupy? ○ Holding: 1) Yes 2) Tacking is allowed because successive possessors are in privity.

Adverse Possession of Chattels ● Replevin: Suit to recover personal property wrongfully taken by another. ★ O’Keeffe v. Snyder (Georgia O’Keeffe painting) -- Discovery rule. ○ Issue: 1) Did the statute of limitations for replevin bar this cause of action? 2) Did Snyder acquire adverse possession of the chattels? ○ Rule: The discovery rule tolls the SOL if owner of stolen personal property acted w/ due diligence to pursue the property. ● Discovery rule: Legal claim does not exist until the injured party discovers, or should have discovered, facts that form the basis of the action. (e.g. Sees stolen goods displayed and triggers their right to demand recovery of those goods.) ● Under adverse possession, burden is on the possessor to prove elements of adverse possession.

Gifts/Acquisition by Gift ●

Gift: Voluntary, immediate transfer of property w/o consideration. ○ Mutual benefit; donor = satisfaction of giving gift and donee = receives value of the items.

2 CATEGORIES OF GIFTS ● ●

(1) Gifts  inter vivos: Ordinary gift made by living person to another; irrevocable (2) Gifts  causa mortis: Ordinary gift made by one living person to another, but made in anticipation of donor’s imminent death. ○ If donor survives, gift can either be revoked or not depending on “reasonable time.”

3 REQUIREMENTS OF GIFT GIVING (IDA) ● ●

(1) Intent: Donor must intend to give property to donee. (2) Delivery: Donor must deliver subject matter. 3 types of delivery: ■ Manual delivery/actual delivery: *primary method* -- donor physically transfers possession. ■ Constructive delivery: Permitted when manual delivery is impossible (e.g. A gives B keys to a car that A intends to give B). ■ Symbolic delivery: Donor physically transfers to donee an object that represents or symbolizes subject matter. ● (3) Acceptance: Donee must accept ● Once IDA is satisfied, donee has title. ★ Newman v. Bost (lady friend caretaker and old guy) ○ Issue: Do the alleged gifts meet IDA requirements? Is “all of the personal property in the house” sufficient delivery by handing over keys? ○ Holding: No. ★ Gruen v. Gruen (painting from Grandpa) ○ Issue: Whether a valid inter vivos gift of chattel may be made when the donee never had physical possession before the donor’s death. ○ Holding: Yes; Letters established intent to make a present transfer. ● Donee bears burden of proof on all elements of IDA be clear and convincing evidence.

Introduction to Present Possessory Estates ● ●

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Estate: Ownership in a particular piece of land Transferability: Capable of being transferred together w/ all rights of the original holder. 3 Types of Transferability: ■ Alienable: Transferred during one’s lifetime ■ Devisable: Transferable by will. ■ Descendible: Transferable by descent or being inherited. Testacy/Intestacy: When we die, our laws provide that we may leave our property to others. ○ Decedent: Dead person/one who died recently. ○ Testator: A person who died leaving a will. ○ Intestate: Someone who has died w/o valid will. ○ Intestate succession: Succession at death to the estate of a person who dies w/p a legally valid will. ○ Testate succession: Succession at death to the estate of a person who dies w/ a legally valid will; beneficiaries are “devisees” Persons who are capable of receiving property: ○ Heritability: Capable of being inherited. ○ Heirs: Persons who are entitled to decedent’s estate; spouses fall here Issue/descendants: Surviving children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on. ■ Lineal descendants: A blood relative in the direct line of descent. ○ Ancestors: Parents who may take as heirs if decedent leaves no issue. ○ Collaterals: All persons related to the decedent by blood who are neither descendants or ancestors (brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.); brother and sister if no spouse, issue, or ancestors.

What happens to property when people die? ● ●

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Will = Follow testamentary procedures. No will =  Laws of intestacy ○ Heirs → Issue/descendants → lineal descendants ■ If none, escheat. ● Escheat: Reversion of property to the state upon the death of an owner who has neither a will nor any legal heirs. Present interests: Take possession and use property currently in present time. Future interests: Must wait until some future time to take possession of the property; ownership in land nonetheless What are the 3 ways property interests can be transferred? ○ Alienable → May be transferred during lifetime. ○ Descendible → May pass to heirs. ○ Devisable → Can be left in a will.

Present Interests

FEE SIMPLE ABSOLUTE ●

Owns the property outright; infinite duration; indefeasible → conveyances ends w/ FSA ○ Creating language: ■ “To A” = words of purchase ■ “And his heirs” = words of limitation ○ Duration: ■ Absolute ownership, with potentially infinite duration.

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Transferability: ■ Devisable (can be left in a will); Descendible (may pass to heirs); Alienable (may be transferred during lifetime) Future Interest: ■ NONE Example: O conveys “To A” ■ A has absolute ownership. Example: O  conveys “To A and his heirs.” ■ A has absolute ownership; heirs have nothing (living persons have no heirs)

FEE TAIL ●

Series of estates that were originally put in place to transfer to children. ○ Creating language: ■ “To A” = words of purchase ■ “And the heirs of his body” = words of limitation ○ Duration: ■ Lasts only as long as there are lineal blood descendants of the grantee ○ Transferability: ■ Passes automatically to the grantee’s lineal descendants. ○ Future Interest: ■ Reversion (if held by the grantor); rem...