PROPERTY I & J SPRING 2010: SYLLABUS (UNITS I-III)
Numbers in parentheses preceded by P indicate pages in Property Law: Ownership, Use & Conservation; numbers preceded by S indicate pages in the instructor’s Supplemental Materials; numbers preceded by IM indicate pages in Information Memos available on the course page; numbers preceded by E indicate pages in Estates and Land & Future Interests (3d ed.).
Introductory Material
A. Course Outline (IM1)
B. Scheduling Information (IM2)
C. Information about the Course (IM3-11)
D. Information about the Instructor (IM12-14)
E. Fajer, Out at First (1988) (IM14-15)
F. General Instructions for Written Assignments (IM16-17)
Unit I: But It’s Mine
Involuntary Transfers of Property Rights
Chapter 1: An Important Stick: The Right to Exclude and Some Exceptions
A. Trespass
1. Notes on “The Right to Exclude” and “Trespass” (P53-54)
2. Jacque v. Steenberg Homes (Wisc. 1997) (P54-57)
3. Notes 1-4, 6 (P57-59)
4. Discussion Questions 1-5 (S1-2)
B. Access to Migrant Agricultural Workers
1. State v. Shack (N.J. 1971) (S2-6)
2. Discussion Questions 6-15 (S6-7)
3. Review Problems 1A- 1C (S7-8)
4. Written Assignment #1 (In Info Memo #2: To Be Posted)
C. Private Property Open to the Public
1. Background
a. Common Law Privileges: Notes 1-2 (P83-84)
b. Civil Rights Laws: Notes 4-5 (P84-85)
c. Discussion Questions 16-18 (S8)
2. Undesirable Patrons
a. Brooks v. Chicago Downs Assn. (7th Cir. 1986) (P79-83)
b. Note 3 (P84)
c. Discussion Questions 19-20 (S8)
3. Free Speech Access
a. N.J. Coalition v. J.M.B. Realty Corp. (N.J. 1994) (P85-92)
b. Notes 1-3 (P92-93)
c. Discussion Questions 21-25 (S8-9)
d. Review Problem 1D (S9)
D. Review Problems 1E-1H (S9-10)
Chapter 2: The Price of Living in a Democratic Society: The Eminent Domain Power and the Public Use Requirement
A. Introduction and Overview
1. Introductory Note (P178-79)
2. Note 6 (P196-97)
3. Discussion Questions 26-28 (S11)
B. Federal Standards
1. Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff (U.S. 1984) (S11-16)
2. Discussion Questions 29-31 (S16)
3. Kelo v. City of New London (U.S. 2005) (P179-93)
4. Notes 1, 4, 7 (P193, 195-97)
5. Discussion Questions 32-37 (S16)
C. State Standards
1. Poletown Neighborhood Council v. City of Detroit (Mich. 1981) (S17-18)
(facts from Ryan, J., Dissenting)
2. Discussion Question 38 (S18)
3. Notes 2, 3, 5 (P193-98)
4. Discussion Questions 39-41 (S18)
D. Review Problems 2A-2E (S18-20)
Chapter 3: The Statute of Limitations: The Adverse Possession Doctrine
A. Introduction
1. Overview of the Doctrine (S21-22)
2. Color of Title
a. Note (S22)
b. Note 5 (P120)
3. Justifications for Adverse Possession (Note 1) (P108-10)
4. Sample Statutes
a. Florida Statute (S22-23)
b. Pennsylvania (S23-24)
5. Sample Cases
a. VanValkenburgh v. Lutz (N.Y. 1952) (S24-30)
b. Ray v. Beacon Hudson Mountain Corp. (N.Y. 1996) (P102-05)
c. E. 13th St. Homesteader’s Coalition v. Lower East Side Coalition Housing Dev. (N.Y. Supr. 1996) (P105-08)
d. ITT Rayonier, Inc. v. Bell (Wash. 1989) (S30-33)
6. Discussion Questions 42-43 (S34)
B. Elements & Related Issues
1. Actual Use
a. Note 1 (S34) & Note 3 (P119)
b. Discussion Questions 44-46 (S35)
2. Open & Notorious
a. Note 2 (S35) & Note 4 (P119-20)
b. Discussion Questions 47-49 (S36)
3. Exclusive
a. Note 3 (S36) & Note 7 (P121)
b. Discussion Questions 50-52 (S36-37)
4. Continuous
a. Note 4 (S37); Note 4 (P111); Note 6 (P113); Note 8 (P121-22)
b. Discussion Questions 53-55 (S37)
5. Adverse/Hostile, Claim of Right & State of Mind
a. Notes 5-6 (S38); Note 3 (P110); Note 6 (P120-21)
b. Discussion Questions 56-57 (S38)
6. Other Issues: Note 7 (S39)
C. Boundary Disputes
1. Special Issues: Note 8 (S39)
2. Dorschner, Nightmare on 68th Street (1992) (S40-49)
3. Discussion Questions 58-60 (S50)
D. Policy Implications
1. Squatting (Note 5) (P111-13)
2. Environment (Note 6) (P127-28)
3. Discussion Question 61 (S50)
E. Review Problems 3A-3H (S50-53)
F. Written Assignment #2: Stealing Home
1. Team Assignments & Instructions (In Info Memo #2: To Be Posted)
2. Client Information (Handouts)
3. Materials on Perception, Memory and Evidence
a. Wigmore, Principles of Judicial Proof (1931) (S53-59)
b. Calvin, The River That Flows Uphill (1987) (S60-62)
c. Sondheim, Someone in a Tree (1976) (S63-66)
4. Binder & Price, Legal Interviewing and Counseling (pp.20-52; 124-34)
(on reserve at circulation desk in library)
UNIT II: SUCH A DEAL!
Voluntary Transfers of Property Rights
Chapter 4: Nobody’s Perfect: Defects in Purchased Property
A. Overview of the Sales Process
1. Land Sales (P312-13)
2. Johnstone, Land Transfers: Process & Processors (P313-14; 319-22)
3. Sample Contract of Sale (P331-35) (skim)
4. Deeds: Sample, Formalities, Construction, Delivery & Acceptance (P379-83)
5. Barry, The Ritual Closing Ceremony (S67)
B. Physical Defects and Off-Site Problems
1. Duty to Disclose
a. Stambovsky v. Ackley (N.Y.App.Div. 1991) (S68-72)
b. Strawn v. Canuso (N.J. 1995) (P404-12)
c. Notes 1-3, 5-6 (P412-15)
d. Note 5 (P316-17)
e. Discussion Questions 62-69 (S72-73)
2. Warranty of Fitness
a. Wawak v. Stewart (Ark. 1970) (P415-18)
b.. Nichols v. R.R. Beaufort & Assoc. (R.I. 1999) (P418-24)
c. Notes 3-8 (P425-29)
d. Discussion Questions 70-75 (S73)
C. Risk of Loss/Equitable Conversion
1. Skelly Oil v. Ashmore (P369-76)
2. Notes 1-4 (P376-79)
3. Discussion Questions 76-77 (S73)
D. Review Problems 4A-4E (S74-75)
Chapter 5: Where There’s a Will … and Where There Isn’t: Property Transfer at Death
A. Intestate Succession
a. Overview of Intestate Succession (S76-77)
b. Florida Intestacy Statutes (S77-79)
c. Written Assignment III: Intestacy and the Variety of State Law (in IM#3)
B. Wills
1. Overview of Wills Issues (S79-83)
2. Florida Laws Relating to Wills (S83-86)
3. Sample Will Formalities Cases
a. Estate of Weiss (Penn. 1971) (S86-87)
b. Estate of Stasis (Penn. 1973) (S87-89)
c. Discussion Questions 78-79 (S89)
4. Testator’s State of Mind
a. Estate of Webb (Okla. 1993) (S89-95)
b. In re Strittmater’s Estate (N.J. Eq. 1947) (S95-96)
c. Discussion Questions 80-82 (S96-97)
C. Review Problems 5A-5E (S97-99)
Unit III: Mi Casa Es Su Casa
Division of Property Rights in the Same Piece of Land
Chapter 6. Leased But Not Last: Landlord/Tenant Law
A. Overview
1. Introductory Material (P657-60, 707-08)
2. Some Themes in Landlord-Tenant Law (S100)
3. Florida Residential Landlord-Tenant Statutes (S101-12)
4. The Process of Eviction
a. Notes: Landlord’s Remedies (P712-15)
b. Florida Statutes §§83.56, 83.59, 83.60 (S107-10)
B. Rights and Duties Related to Possession
1. The Tenant’s Right to Possession
a. Note: The Right to Possession (P660-62)
b. Discussion Questions 83-85 (S113)
2. Landlord Right to Self-Help
a. Berg v. Wiley (Minn. 1978) (P715-21)
b. Notes 1-3 (P721-22)
c. Fla. Stat. §83.59 (S109)
d. Discussion Questions 86-87 (S113)
3. Landlord Duty to Mitigate Damages
a. Notes: Damages (P723-24)
b. Austin Hill Country Realty v. Palisades Plaza (Texas 1997) (P724-730)
c. Aurora Business Park v. Michael Albert, Inc. (Iowa 1996) (P730-33)
d. Notes 1-3, 5-6 (P733-35)
4. Assignments & Subleases
a. Note: The Right to Assign and Sublet (P700-701)
b. Funk v. Funk (Idaho 1981) (P701-05)
c. Notes 1-3 (P705-07)
d. Note 4 (P734)
C. Habitability Issues
1. The Right to Quiet Enjoyment/Constructive Eviction
a. Barash v. Pennsylvania Terminal Real Estate Co. (N.Y.1970) (P662-666)
b. East Haven Assoc. v. Gurian (N.Y.Civ. Ct. 1970) (P666-69)
c. Notes 1-4 (P669-71)
d. Discussion Question 88 (S113)
2. Implied Warranty of Habitability
a. Introduction (P671-72)
b. Javins v. First National Realty Corp. (D.C. Cir. 1970) (P672-80)
c. Notes 1-10 (P681-88)
d. Florida Statutes §§83.51-52, 83.60, 83.64 (S105-06, 110-11)
e. Discussion Questions 89-92 (S113)
3. Working With Florida Statutes & Codes
a. Written Assignment #4: Tempest at the Teapot (in IM #3)
b. Florida Landlord-Tenant Statutes (S101-12)
c. Miami-Dade County Housing Code (S114-22)
D. Review Problems 6A-6F (S123-26)
Chapter 7. The Shadow of the Past: Estates and Future Interests
A. The Law of Estates & Future Interests: Overview
1. Historical Overview (P563-70)
2. Instructor’s Overview (S127-28)
3. Workbook Overview (E1-8)
B. Introduction to Present Estates
1. Instructor’s Overview (S129-32)
2. Fee Simple Absolute (P570-74; E8-10, E39-41)
3. Finite Estates (P574-78, P587; E10-19)
4. White v. Brown (Tenn. 1977) (S137-41)
5. Discussion Questions 93-96 (S141-42)
C. Future Interests That Follow Finite Estates
1. Instructor’s Overview of Future Interests (S133-37)
2. Reversions (P588-89; E41-42)
3. Remainders (P595-96; E52-69)
4. Notes 2-3 (P600-01)
5. Problems 7A-7H (S142)
D. Conditional Interests
1. Conditional Interests Cutting Off Fees
a. Defeasible Fees (S130-33 (review); P578-81; E21-37, E42-49)
b. Mahrenholz v. County Board (Ill. App. 1981) (P581-85)
c. Notes 1-4 (P585-87)
d. Discussion Questions 97-104 (S142-43)
e. Problem 7I (S143)
2. Conditional Interests Cutting off Remainders and Life Estates
a. Executory Interests (P590-93; S137; E71-84, E97-107)
b. Some Additional Complexities (E86-96; 108-27)
c. Problems 7J-7N (SS143-44)
3. Impermissible Conditions
a. Note 1 (Restraints on Alienation) (P625)
b. Notes 1-3 (Impermissible Restraints) (P632-33)
c. Rabin & Kwall, Note on Restraints on Personal Conduct (S144-45)
d. Problem 7O (S144)
e. Shapira v. Union Nat’l Bank (Ohio Com. Pleas 1974) (S145-48)
f. Discussion Questions 105-07 (S148)
E. Some Rules Governing Future Interests
1. The Doctrine of Worthier Title: Overview (P594, E132-36)
2. The Rule in Shelley’s Case: Overview (P593; E129-32, E136)
3. Problems 7P-7Q (S149)
4. The Rule Against Perpetuities
a. Instructor’s Supplemental Note: (S149-52)
b. Workbook Overview (E137-49)
F. Review Problems 7R-7X (S152-54)
Unit IV: Breaches In The Castle Wall
Land Use Regulation
Chapter 8. Regulation by Contract: The Law of Servitudes
A. Overview of Non-Possessory Interests (P819-23)
B. Easements
1. Express Easements
a. Introduction
i) Instructor’s Overview (S155-56)
ii) Casebook Overview (P823-26)
b. Positive Easements
i) Chevy Chase Land Co. v. U.S. (Md. App. 1999) (P826-32)
ii) Notes 1-2 (P832-33)
iii) Marcus Cable Assoc. v. Krohn (Tex. 2002) (P834-38)
iv) Notes 1-2 (P838)
v) Discussion Questions 108-10 (S156)
c. Negative Easements
i) Petersen v. Friedman (Cal. App. 1958) (S156-57)
ii) Discussion Questions 111-12 (S158)
d. Review Problems 7A-7D (S158-59)
2. Implied Easements
a. Easements by Estoppel
i) Stoner v. Zucker (Cal. 1906) (P847-49)
ii) Notes 1-5 (P850-52)
iii) Discussion Questions 113-14 (S159)
b. Easements by Implication & by Necessity
i) Williams Island Country Club v. San Simeon (Fla. App. 1984) (P852-54)
ii) Dupont v. Whiteside (Fla. App. 1998) (P855-59)
iii) Notes 1-8 (P859-64)
c. Prescriptive Easements
i) MacDonald Properties v. Bel-Air Country Club (Cal. App. 1977) (P869-71)
ii) Lyons v. Baptist School of Christian Training (Maine 2002) (P872-76)
iii) Notes 1-9 (P876-81)
iv) Discussion Questions 115-18 (S159)
d. Review Problems 7E-7F (S160)
C. Aside: Introduction to the Recording System
1. S.Kurtz & H.Hovenkamp, Information Costs and the Market for Real Property (1987) (161-62)
2. Title Records and Indexing
a. S.Kurtz & H.Hovenkamp, The Title Search and the Abstract of Title (1987) (S162-67)
b. The Indices (P469-72)
c. Note 2 (P479-80)
3. Recording Acts & Their Operation
a. Textbook Overview (P445-52)
b. Notes 1-3 (P463-65)
c. Instructor’s Overview (S167-71)
4. Discussion Question 119 (S171)
D. Promissory Servitudes
1. Traditional Elements (Lecture)
2. Historical Overview (S171-73)
3. Common Interest Communities
a. Protecting Landowners (P916)
b. Nahrstedt v. Lake Village Condominium Assn. (Cal.1994) (P916-922)
c. Notes 1-5 (P923-25)
d. Nahrstedt (Arabian, J. dissenting) (less edited version) (S173-77)
e. Selected Florida Statutes Regarding Condominiums (S178)
f. Discussion Questions 120-26 (S178-79)
g. Review Problem 7G (S179)
Chapter 9. Regulation by Local Ordinance: The Law of Zoning
A. Introduction to Zoning
1. Introductory Notes (P959-62)
2. Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty (P962-66)
3. Notes 1-4 (P966-68)
4. State Zoning Enabling Act (P969-70)
5. US Nat’l Comm’n on Urban Problems, Building the American City (1968) (P978-81)
6. Goldstein, Real Property (1st edition) pp. 1213-72 (Goldstein, Real Property (1st edition) pp. 1213-72 (on reserve at Library Circulation desk)
7. Written Assignment #5 (IM#3)
B. Exceptions to the Zoning Plan
1. Non-Conforming Uses
a. Village of Valatie v. Smith (N.Y. 1994) (P982-85)
b. Notes 1-3, 5-8 (P985-88)
c. Discussion Questions 127-29 (S179-80)
2. Variances & Special Exceptions
a. Commons v. Westwood Zoning Bd. Of Adjustment (N.J. 1980) (S180-84)
b. North Shore Steak House v. Bd. of Appeals (N.Y. 1972) (P996-99)
c. Notes 2-3 (P999-1001) (do both notes numbered 3)
d. Discussion Questions 130-36 (S184-85)
C. Zoning Beyond Traditional Land Use Concerns
1. Zoning & Family Shape
a. Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas (U.S. 1974) (P1049-53)
b. Note 2 (P1053-54)
c. Moore v. City of East Cleveland (U.S. 1977) (S191-99)
d. Discussion Questions 142-50 (S199-200)
D. Review Problems 9A-9G (S200-03)
Epilogue
A. What is Property? (Lecture)
B. Responsibility in Law & Life (Lecture)
1. Sondheim, The Road You Didn’t Take (S204)
2. Sondheim, Giants in the Sky (S205)
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