Property Outline - Spring 2019 PDF

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Property Law Outline...

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Property Outline Deutsch Spring 2019

Table of Contents Ownership.........................................................................................................................7 The Right to Exclude...................................................................................................7 Right to Transfer Title.................................................................................................9 Restraints on Alienation..........................................................................................9 Right to Abandon.........................................................................................................9 Right to Destroy.........................................................................................................10 Acquisition by Capture.................................................................................................11 Constructive Possession............................................................................................11 Natural Rights............................................................................................................12 Acquisition of Property by Subsequent Possession.................................................14 Adverse Possession.......................................................................................................16 Acquisition by Gift........................................................................................................20 Gifts Causa Mortis (Neuman)..................................................................................20 Inter Vivos Gift (Gruen)............................................................................................20 Property in One’s Person.............................................................................................22 Nuisance.........................................................................................................................23 Private Nuisance........................................................................................................23 Public Nuisance..........................................................................................................23 Per Se vs. In Fact.....................................................................................................24 Intentional vs. Unintentional................................................................................24 Remedies..................................................................................................................24 Easements......................................................................................................................25 Affirmative Easement.............................................................................................25 Negative Easement.................................................................................................25 Easement Appurtenant..........................................................................................26 Easement in Gross..................................................................................................26 Creation of Easements..............................................................................................27 Termination of Easements........................................................................................31 Real Covenants..............................................................................................................32 Reciprocal Negative Easements..............................................................................33 Termination of Covenants.........................................................................................34 Equitable Servitudes.....................................................................................................35 2

Common Interest Communities (CIC)....................................................................35 Co-operatives..............................................................................................................35 The System of Estates..................................................................................................37 Present Estates..............................................................................................................38 Fee Simple Absolute..................................................................................................38 Defeasible Fee Estates...............................................................................................38 A. Fee Simple Determinable................................................................................38 B. Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent..............................................39 C. Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitation................................................39 Condemnation.........................................................................................................40 Valuation issues......................................................................................................40 Fee Tail.........................................................................................................................40 Life Estate...................................................................................................................41 Restraints on Alienation........................................................................................41 Right to Invade the Corpus...................................................................................42 Waste.........................................................................................................................42 Future Interests.............................................................................................................43 Retained by Grantor..................................................................................................43 A. Reversion...........................................................................................................43 B. Possibility of Reversion...................................................................................43 C. Right of Entry....................................................................................................43 Retained by Someone Other than Grantor.............................................................43 A. Executory Interests..........................................................................................43 B. Remainders........................................................................................................43 I. II.

Contingent Remainder....................................................................................44 Vested Remainders........................................................................................44

1. Absolutely Vested Remainder (Indefeasible V.R.).......................................44 2. Vested Subject to Complete Divestment.......................................................44 3. Vested Remainder Subject to Open...............................................................45 Statute of Uses (1536)..............................................................................................46 Statute of Enrollment.............................................................................................46 Statute of Wills........................................................................................................46 Trust................................................................................................................................47 Spendthrift Trust.......................................................................................................47 3

Power of Appointment...............................................................................................47 Rule Against Perpetuities............................................................................................49 1. Unborn Widow Rule.............................................................................................49 2. Fertile Octogenarian...........................................................................................50 3. All or Nothing Rule..........................................................................................50 Rule of Reason.........................................................................................................50 “Wait-and-See”........................................................................................................50 Uniform Rule Against Perpetuities Act...............................................................51 Co-Ownership.................................................................................................................52 Tenancy in Common...................................................................................................52 Joint Tenancy..............................................................................................................52 Title State vs. Lien State........................................................................................54 Tenancy by the Entirety............................................................................................54 Ouster.......................................................................................................................55 Super Ouster............................................................................................................55 Partition Among Owners........................................................................................55 Marital Interests...........................................................................................................56 Landlord Tenant Law....................................................................................................58 Implied Warranty of Habitability................................................................................60 Assignments & Subleases............................................................................................62

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Table of Authorities XArmory v. Delamire (1722) [54; chimney-sweeper jewel]................................................9 Baker v. Weedon (1972) [274; pedo farm marriage]........................................................24 Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co. (1970) [742; cement plant permanent damages]..........13 Brown v. Voss (1986) [807; extending easement to lot C]...............................................15 Davis v. Davis (2016) [213; kids want beach house from mom]........................................6 Estancias Dallas Corp v. Schultz (1973) [739; noisy air conditioner]..............................13 Eyerman v. Mercantile Trust Co. (1975) [232; dead lady done w/ everything].................7 Ghen v. Rich (1881) [27; whaley].......................................................................................8 Gruen v. Gruen (1986) [123; whiny rich kid painting].....................................................13 Hannah v. Peel (1945) [57; soldiers fighting over brooch]................................................9 Hawkins v. Mahoney (1999) [223; inmate abandoning property]......................................7 Holbrook v. Taylor (1976) [772; permission to use road]................................................16 Howard v. Kunto (1970) [95; everyone’s on the wrong land]..........................................11 In Re Estate of Kievernagel (2008) [238; sperm stealer]................................................13 Ink v. City of Canton (1965) [303; condemnation of defeasible fee]................................23 J&M v. First Union (2001) [NJ Billboards].......................................................................11 Jacque v. Steenberg Homes (1997)[205; mobile home cutting across land].....................6 Keeble v. Hickeringill (1707) [35; ducky]...........................................................................8 Mahrenholz v. County Board of School Trustees (1981) [286; FS determinable]...........22 Mannillo v. Gorski (1969) [89; petty ppl complain bc steps on their land]......................11 Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States (20140 [818; RR easement abandonment]...............................................................................................................17 McAvoy v. Medina (1856) [63; mislaid pocket-book].......................................................10 Miller v. Lutheran Conference & Camp Association (1938) [799; Lake Naomi swimming] ......................................................................................................................................15 Moore v. Regents of the University of California (1990) [167; leukemia cell theft]........13 Morgan v. High Penn Oil Co. (1953) [731; oil refinery nuisance]....................................13 Mountain Brow Lodge v. Toscano (1967) [296; FS condition subsequent]......................23 Nahrstedt v. Lakeside Village Condominium Assoc., Inc. (1994) [876; condo cat lady]..20 Neponsit Property Owners’ Association, Inc. v. Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank (1938) [843; bank lien].............................................................................................................18 Newman v. Bost (1898) [116; confederate pedo].............................................................12 NJ Coalition Against War v. JMB Realty Corp. (1994) [anti-war protestors at mall].........6 O’Keefe v. Snyder (1980) [103; Georgia O’Keefe painting].............................................11 Othen v. Rosier (1950) [785; muddy lane easement].......................................................16 Pierson v. Post (1805) [19; foxy]........................................................................................7 Pocono Springs Civic Association v. Mackenzie (1995) [227; vacant lot dummies]..........7 Popov v. Hayashi (2002) [46; split baseball idiots]............................................................8 Sanborn v. McLean (1925) [854; reciprocal negative easement]....................................19 Shelly v. Kraemer (1948) [859; housing discrimination].................................................19 Spur Industries v. Del E. Webb Developments Co. (1972) [749; phoenix feed lots]........14 State v. Shack (1971) [207; farm workers & public aid workers]......................................6 Tulk v. Moxhay (1848) [838; Leicester Square Gardens]................................................18 Van Sandt v. Royster (1938) [777; sewer explosion]........................................................16 5

Van Valkenburgh v. Lutz (1952) [76; garden lot feud].....................................................11 Western Land Co. v. Truskolaski (1972) [865; covenants changed circumstances]........19 White v. Brown (1977) [266; disabling restraint]............................................................24 Willard v. First Church of Christ, Scientist (1972) [766; church parking lot].................15

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Definitions Life Estate:

The owners have the property until they die – for day-to-day purposes, the owners have possession, but give up the right to will the property to inheritors. After death, the remainder holders take the property. May be transferred to another but only for the limit of the original holder’s life.

Remainder:

A future interest in the property. The estate can’t change/revoke the arrangement. Remainder holders don’t have the right of possession as long as life tenant is alive.

Restraints on Alienation: Property owner has the right to make use or sell the property as they want unless there’s a limit and as long as the person is a full owner. Fee-Simple Absolute:

Most unlimited form of ownership – absolute ownership of potentially infinite duration, freely alienable (easily bought or sold) and has no accompanying future interest.

Claim of Right:

someone told you-that you own the property; you thought you bought it

Color of Title:

Written document that has appearance of vested ownership (like a deed) but has vital defect making it invalid (e.g. forgery)

Easement:

Right held by one person to make specific, limited use of land owned by another.

Nuisance: neighbor.

An unreasonable use of property that causes injury to a

Trespass:

A physical invasion on another’s land.

Escheat: held by intermediary

Process where state may assume title of abandoned property

with no property interest in the property (e.g. unclaimed funds held by banks).

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Ownership What “ownership entails” The Right to Exclude Private landowners have right to exclude anyone they want from their land -- may exclusively enjoy such land if it does not invade the rights of another: Jacque v. Steenberg Homes (1997)[205; mobile home cutting across land] | Δ cut across π’s land because it was easier than using the snow-covered road or the alternative road that may cause damage. Ct affirmed landowner’s right to exclude others from their land. Actual harm here is not to land, but denial of owner’s legal right to exclude  A right is illusory if unenforceable  Repeated trespass could threaten ownership by giving trespasser rights by prescription or adverse possession. Ownership of real property doesn’t include right to refuse access to individuals providing gov’t services to workers who are housed on the property: State v. Shack (1971) [207; farm workers & public aid workers] | Shack wanted to go on Tedesco farm to speak to client/farm worker. Tedesco asserted right to exclude anyone from their land. Ct held title to real property doesn’t include dominion over destiny of persons—med & legal representatives of charitable groups can’t be barred from entering private land to provide aid. -

Employer, property owner, does however have a right to require guests to identify themselves and state the purpose of the visit.

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Rights in real property are not absolute and are limited by the maintenance of the well-being of those people that the owner permits on his land. This case illustrates the central limitation on the right to possession or use of private property (i.e. it may not be used to harm others)

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The workers’ rights of privacy and the opportunity to receive such public assistance are too fundamental to be denied. “Necessity, private or public, may justify entry upon the lands of another – this rule is based upon the basic rationale that “property rights serve human values” (i.e. First Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech)

Exclusion from Shopping Malls NJ Coalition Against War v. JMB Realty Corp. (1994) [anti-war protestors at mall] | πs wanted right to leaflet at NJ Malls. Ct held leafletting is protected speech and centers must provide access, subject to appropriate limitations (# of people, 9

hours, days allowed) imposed by the centers. NJ Position is a minority opinion! *Malls have a general invitation. 

This holding applies only to leafleting; property owners may prohibit the use of bullhorns, pickets, parades, and demonstrations.

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Property owners may also reasonably restrict the time, place, and manner of the speech. o Can require notice and registration o Regulate type of activity and defined area on premises o Limit hours, freq of visits, and group size

Speech rights on private property depends on the nature of the use of the property. Factors considered to extend 1st amend protections to private parties by public use of their land: 

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Normal use of the premises o Centers have replaced downtown business districts as a hub for expression Nature & extent of public invitation o Invitation to do more than just shop—to do whatever one would downtown as well Compatibility of free speech and use of property o Nothing disco...