Property—Fall 2007
Professor Case
I. Fundamental Concepts of Property
a. What is Property?
i. Traditional Notion: Things owned by persons
ii. Law Conception/Legal Definition
1. Legally recognized rights held by a person in relation to an object
2. Relationship between people and their respective rights to a particular object
3. Bundle of Rights Includes (Each Right Not Absolute, Have Limitations):
a. Right to Exclude—eg, prevent entry of others onto land I own, the law allows ejection LIMITATION: police, utility companies, etc.
b. Right to Transfer—eg, sell, bequeath to heirs, or give away LIMITATION: when attempting to avoid creditors under a state of bankruptcy
c. Right to Use and Possess—decisions allowed by law LIMITATION: zoning laws
b. Property Classifications
i. Real Property—land and/or things affixed to the land (eg: buildings, trees, etc.)
ii. Personal Property—everything else
1. Tangible (aka, chattels)
2. Intangible (intellectual, copyrights, patents, etc)
iii. This Course Will Focus on REAL & TANGIBLE PERSONAL
II. The Law of Finders
a. CASE: Armory v Delamirie
i. King’s Court case, chimney sweep finds jewel and goldsmith refuses to return after a low appraisal of the value, a trover case
ISSUE: Sweep is the Finder and Goldsmith is the Subsequent Possessor. Who has the superior right to the jewel?
HOLDING: Goldsmith ordered to pay greatest value of the chattel to Sweep
ii. Types of Common Law Causes of Action
1. Trover: someone has wrongfully liquidated goods that Plaintiff has an interest in, therefore the P is seeking monetary recovery of the highest possible value of the chattel
2. Replevin: a suit where P seeks to have the goods returned
iii. Finders RULE: “a finder obtains rights to the found property and that right is good as against the whole world but the true owner of the property and any prior possessor”
1. Consider for a Sequence of Possessors, Finder has superior right over Secondary Finder/Subsequent possessor
iv. What if the sweep stole the jewel from the TO and the goldsmith (subsequent possessor) refuses to return to the sweep?
1. Prior possession is still superior to subsequent possession and therefore the jewel is returned to the thief
2. Many courts will not apply this rule and only apply the Prior Possession rule to honest claimants
b. Policy Issues
i. Why does the law protect ownership interests?
1. Protect the peace
2. Provides an incentive for property ownership
3. Provides incentive for making smart economic decisions with that property (eg: trades)
ii. Why does the law protect possession rights?
1. Protects ownership where proof can be difficult and ownership may be challenged
2. Necessary for personal property, but not for Real Property where a land title system is in place
c. True Owner’s (TO) Rights In Relationship to a Finder
i. Bailment Cause of Action
1. Voluntary Bailment: TO (Bailor) hands property over to a Bailee for safe-keeping, Bailee has a certain standard of care to follow in regards to that piece of property
a. If the Bailee does not exhibit quality standard of care, Bailor can recover value of property from the Bailee
i. HYPO: Apply to ARMORY case, supra. Bailee (sweep) has now been paid by Goldsmith. Bailor (TO) can recover those funds from the Bailee, if it is a Voluntary situation
ii. Bailor may receive a judgment against the Bailee, but it may be a worthless judgment if the Bailee is not able to pay
b. Bailor assumes the RISK of the voluntary bailment relationship b/c there was an opportunity to evaluate the risk
2. Involuntary Bailment: Bailor does not have the opportunity to assess the risk of the Bailee
a. HYPO: Armory Case—TO is an involuntary bailor and therefore the goldsmith carries the risk of “buying” the jewel from the sweep. TO can seek recovery of damages from the goldsmith, resulting in the goldsmith paying twice.
i. Subrogation Rights: Goldsmith can then recover the 2nd payment from the Sweep, essentially stepping into the shoes of the TO and assuming the TO’s rights in relation to the sweep (aka finder)
d. Real Property Terms
i. Causes of Action
1. Replevin is related to EJECTMENT—dispossessing someone else of the TO’s land
2. Trover is related to TRESPASS—seeking the value/money damages of the wrongful entry onto the TO’s property
e. CASE: Hannah v Peel
i. FACTS: Hannah (P) finds a brooch in D’s house, D never occupied house but it was being let out to the British Army during WWII, P turns in piece to the police, D takes from the police and sells it, P offered a reward by the D but D wants full value of property or the property back
ii. ISSUE: Rival claims to the brooch, Hannah = finder, Peel = owner of the locus where brooch is found
1. Does the Finders’ Rule give Hannah superior rights over the right to claim what is found on someone else’s property?
Sidebar by Prof. Case: on Evidence
Direct: 1st hand knowledge/testimony/observations/documents that recount 1st hand knowledge
Vs.
Indirect/Circumstantial: eg—the cobwebs covering the brooch makes it seem brooch was there for a long period of time, leads to a Reasonable Inference
Lost=property inadvertently “got away” from you, Mislaid=intentionally put somewhere & forgotten or not retrieved
iii. HOLDING: P (finder) given
d Adverse Possession
i. Economic efficiency: reward those that make more “use” of the property leading to a greater benefit to society
ii. Creates a burden on the TO to survey your property and avoid neglectfulness
1. Sleeping Theory: punishment of TO b/c they slept on their rights
iii. Used from the Legal standpoint of a conflict resolution, used to Quiet Title
iv. From Adverse Possessors point of view, Reliance on the Property—the greater the amount of time that passes the greater your dependence
1. Earning Theory: your reliance & improvement to the property have earned the adverse possessor title
b. How An Adverse Possessor Obtains Title: Possession must be
i. Actual & Exclusive
1. Purpose: there is no cause of action for owner to eject adverse possessor if there is no entry, the entry marks the start of the statute of limitations/statutory period
2. Actual=AP has to actually, physically take possession of the land
3. Exclusive=means that the AP has excluded the public and the true owner
ii. Open & Notorious
1. Means that the AP must be readily visible to any inspector of the property
2. Purpose: Cannot be a clandestine possession in order to avoid owner’s claim of unawareness, must be open in order to give the true owner notice
iii. Adverse & Under a Claim of Right/Title
1. AP must occupy the land without the consent of the owner and with an intention to remain Or that Adverse Possession be Hostile
2. Purpose: claim is in conflict w/ the true owner
3. 3 Tests/States of Mind of Adverse Possessor Recognized by Jurisdictions (Requisites to Adverse Possession Title)
a. Subjective/Good Faith: you think that your claim of right is valid & you legitimately think the property is yours (MINORITY VIEW)
b. Objective Test: it doesn’t matter what your intent is, but it appears to the world that you are exercising a claim of right (MAJORITY VIEW)
c. Aggressive Trespasser: know it’s not mine, but I’m staking a claim
iv. Must be continuous for the statutory period
1. Means that your open & notorious possession from the standpoint of the world, must be continuous in terms of how the true owner would act in respect to that property
