Property
Personal property-everything else, chattels vs. real property- land, things growing out of the land and things attached to the land
Property can be defined as a three-way relationship: owner to thing, others to thing, and others to owner.
I. Acquisition of Property
Finding-common law holds that a finder has greater rights to the found property than anyone else in the world, except for the true owner.
-FINDER-a person who first takes control of the lost property with intent to maintain possession.
-CONVERSION-when a person wrongfully exerts control over an asset inconsistent with the true owner’s rights to the property.
-REPLEVIN-the action or remedy to recover the asset itself, plus damages if it is injured.
-TROVER-the action to seek monetary compensation for the conversion of personal property. (Lose right to recover the item itself)
-Goddard v. Winchell-meteorite, whatever is affixed to the soil, belongs to the soil
-Orth’s example of the baseball
-Armory v. Delamirie-piece of jewelry to the goldsmith, prior possession, belongs to finder
-SUBROGATION-owner has a right to sue, sues, and by winning transfers her rights to the Δ
-LOST PROPERTY-property the true owner unintentionally and unknowingly drops or loses belongs to the finder.
-MISLAID PROPERTY-property the true owner intentionally placed in a given location and then left or intentionally left intending to return to it later, belongs to the owner or possessor of the premises, Sharman (rings in the pool). Exceptions if the property found is unattached to the locus in quo, Bridges (bank notes) and Hannah (brooch).
-Schley v. Couch-money found while digging up soil, classified as mislaid and goes to the owner of the premises
-McAvoy v. Medina-the wallet on the table, not lost
-ABANDONED PROPERTY-property the true owner intentionally leaves behind with no intent to return and further own the object belongs to the finder.
-Eads v. Brazelton-the abandoned ship case
-TREASURE TROVE-finder keeps gold, silver, sometimes money, things concealed with indications that they have been so long concealed that the true owner has long since died. (sort of Hannah)
-EXCEPTIONS-courts will generally favor the landowner over a trespasser who finds something on the landowner’s land. Something found embedded in the soil belongs the landowner; Goddard.
Creation of Bailments-the transfer and delivery by an owner or prior possessor (bailor) of possession of personal property to another (bailee) whose purpose in holding possession is often for safekeeping or for some other purpose more limited than dealing with the object or chattel as would its owner, and where the return of the object in the same, or substantially the same, undamaged condition is contemplated. A bailment can also be regarded as an implementation of a contract, as a transfer of property. Bailments are typically limited tangible personal property, but can also include pieces of paper representing rights in other things.
-DELIVERY-bailments require delivery of possession, without delivery, there is no bailment. (Actual, constructive, or symbolic)
-ACCEPTANCE-a bailment requires acceptance by the bailee of the delivered property.
-Allen v, Hyatt Regency Hotel- bailment of a car in a parking garage
-Cowen v. Pressprich- involuntary bailment, not liable for conversion
Bona Fide Purchasers- a person who buys honestly and without notice of any conflicting claim on the property bought, whether or not the purchaser is negligent. A bona fide purchaser must act in good faith, for value, and without notice that the wrongdoer did not have good title.
–VOID TITLE- no title. An example would be a bailee or a thief. A person buying stolen goods can be forced to relinquish the goods to the rightful owner. Voidable title is good until the true owner rescinds, at which time the wrongdoer’s title becomes void. If wrongdoer sells to a good faith purchaser, the purchaser receives good title and can prevail even against the true owner. True owner can void the title of a wrongdoer, but cannot void the title of a good faith purchaser. The good faith purchaser can only prevail if the true owner transfers title to the wrongdoer. A thief cannot transfer good title, even to a bona fide purchaser.
-Porter v. Wertz-painting, gallery must look into the title of the transferor
-Sheridan Suzuki v. Caruso Auto Sales-without certificate of title, wrongdoer never had title, Δ purchased the bike at its own risk because wrongdoer never presented certificate of title and Π did not create a reliance for Δ, wrongdoer could not pass title, voidable or good without the certificate
Acquisition of Limitation Title by Adverse Possession-a process through which a person who uses property for a statutorily determined period of time becomes the owner of the property and defeats all rights of the person with legal or record title. A person acquires property through adverse possession by using the property as would a true owner. Each state has a different statute of limitations for how long the property must be used adversely.
-Adverse possession laws penalize owners who sit on their rights for too long, never inspect their land, or those who do not use their land productively. Adverse possession laws also reward the person who uses the property for a long time.
-ELEMENTS OF ADVERSE POSSESSION- adverse possessor must show all of the following elements: 1) actual possession, 2) open and notorious possession, 3) exclusive possession, 4) hostile or adverse possession, and 5) continuous possession.
-Chapin v. Freeland-adverse possession of counters
-O’Keefe v. Snyder-this case regards the discovery rule, where the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the owner discovers or should have discovered that their property is no longer there/that someone else has their property.
Donative Transfers (gifts)-a gift is a noncontractual, gratuitous transfer of property. It is made without legal consideration.
-ELEMENTS OF A GIFT-1) donative intent, 2) delivery (actual/physical), 3) acceptance, and 4) irrevocable.
-INTER VIVOS-gift between living persons. Donee must show three things: 1) clear and convincing intent in the donor to transfer the object to the donee (donative intent), 2) actual delivery, and 3) donee must accept the gift.
-CAUSA MORTIS-gift made on account of a donor’s impending death. The expectation of death requirement is subjective. Death must be imminent and the death must result from the cause predicted. Gifts causa mortis are
he property belongs to A and will belong to A’s heirs upon A’ death, unless otherwise transferred.
· Cole v. Steinlauf- the words “and heirs” is indispensable to the effective expression of an intent to create a fee simple estate in Connecticut (common law) and the omission of the words “and heirs” reduces the estate to a life estate.
2) The Life Estate-means the owner owns the property for life. Life estates are alienable, but not devisable or inheritable. The language to create a life estate is “To A for life.” Life estates create problems between the holder of the legal life estate and the person who owns the property once the life estate ends (either grantor=reversion or third party=remainder). Life tenant must keep the premises in ordinary repair, must pay taxes, must pay the interest on any mortgage for all the property, and in some jurisdictions must pay the insurance premiums.
· Lewis v. Searles-O to A as long as she remains unmarried, but if she marries, then to A, B, and C. A gets a fee simple determinable subject to divestiture. B and C get contingent remainders in fee simple.
· Moore v. Phillips- the life tenant failed to maintain the property, so the heir had an action while the life tenant was alive, but waited until she had passed away to bring the suit, which was allowed by the court.
-PUR AUTRE VIE-life estate based on the life of another. An example would be: A transfers or assigns his life estate to B, B’s interest will end not on the death of B, but on the death of A.
3) Defeasible Estates-A condition subsequent is an event whose occurrence or nonoccurrence will terminate the estate. Once the condition subsequent occurs, the estate holder’s interest ends and the property either reverts to the original grantor or passes to a third party. Defeasible estates are those that can be defeated by a condition or occurrence. There are three types of defeasible estates: fee simple subject to an executory limitation, fee simple subject to a condition subsequent and fee simple determinable.
· Oldfield v. Stoeco Homes-Ocean City deeded land to Δ upon the condition that he was given a time limit to grade it and fill it in. If Δ failed to meet the time limit, the estate reverted back to the city. When the Δ did not comply with the time limit, the city gave him an extension. The court ruled that Δ was given a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent, where the city had the power of termination, but it must assert it.
Fee Simple Determinable-an estate that would be a fee simple absolute but for a provision in the transfer document
