Property Flashcards
(118 cards)
General rule
Capture of a fugacious resource
First into possession and control owns the resource
Post: mere pursuit is insufficient for ownership
Exceptions
Capture of a fugacious resource
- Ratione Soli: owner of land owns fugacious resource
- when possession and control is difficult, custom dictates who owns
Ghen: custom of whaling established control
Additions
Capture of a fugacious resource
- Wrongful interference: even if fully not in control, wrongful interference messes with constructive possession; especially trade; lawful competition ok
- Animus revertendi: domesticated creature or animals that return to private property are not fugacious resource
- Rule of increase: offspring belong to mother’s owner
Duck case
barry bonds case: contructive owner (with wrongful interference) & actual possessor split the ball’s proceeds
General rule
Rule of finders - lost property
Finder wins against all except previous possessor and true owner
Exceptions
Rule of finders - lost property
Owner of locus in quo owns if:
attached to soil
trespassor finds
in private location?
owner is in occupied area?
rule
Mislaid property
owner in locus in quo owns until true owner returns
rule
finder of abandoned property
finder owns unless private property
Elements of
Adverse possession
- Continuous for statutory period
- Exclusive and actual
- Open and notorious
- hostile and under claim of right
- (CA) property taxes
AP creates NEW TITLE
In depth:
Continuous for statutory period
- continuous for how it is normally used. so summer home = summer only; undeveloped = dump trash
- Tacking = privity = anything above a mere trespassor
- Disability = note date of entry & when disability ends
in depth
Exclusive and Actual
- Exclude others as a true owner would
- some jxns require improvement, cultivation, or boundries
In depth
Open and notorious
- reaonable true owner would notice that someone is on property
- No de minimus: if de minimus, owner would need actual knowledge of intrusion
Open and notorious with chattels
- Discovery rule: clock begins ticking when owner knows or should have known cause of action
- Make a demand rule: clock begins ticking when owner makes a demand and gets rejected
in depth
Hostile and under claim of right
- Hostile = unauthorized
- claim of right = acting as if he owns property
- State of mind needed: no state of mind, good faith, bad faith
- Color of title: faulty instrument, must enter and possess and only get that part they possess
invited guest cannot become AP
intervivos
Acquisition by gift
- intent of present, immediate transfer
- Delivery
- Acceptance
in depth
intent of present, immediate transfer
- no future gifts
- condition subsequent is ok
- condition precedent not ok
in depth
Delivery
- Actual: generally, if it can be handed over, it must be
- constructive: difficult or impossible to physically hand over (keys to a car)
- Symbolic = ok in CA
- Third party: doner to donee’s agent = instant ; doner to doner’s agent = wait until delivery
Causa mortis
Gift
- same elements but there is an expectation of a death
- revocable
- if die to another reason, instantly revoked
Limits on property
Public property
must open your private land to public so they can enjoy navigable waters
just like a municipality, home owner association must do same
Limits on property
Right to abandon
- intend to abandon property to world
- affirmative voluntary act of abandonment
- subsequent new party appropriates with intent to own
Cannot abandon land
Limits on property
Right to destroy
generally you can UNLESS public policy reasons: value of neighbors land, criminal law, specific duties to others.
Limits on property
Right to transfer
- no total restraints on alienation
- reasonable restraints are ok: charity, Life estates, against a specific person, and only for a limited time
Estates
Life estate
- cannot AP
- subject to law of waste
- MUST BE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY SOMETHING, OTHERWISE REVERSION
Rules of will construction
- no partial intestacy
- when it is difficult to tell, read a vested remainder to a contingent remainder
- LOOK AT INTENT TO GRANTOR AND CONSIDER IT AS A WHOLE
Law of waste
- Affirmative waste: waste caused by affirmative acts of the tenant
- permissive waste: tenant’s failure to make normal repairs to property, not stopping deterioration
- not waste to continue use of a mine, waste to open a new mine
life estates and leaseholds