1st Assessment Flashcards
2 Types of Property
- Real Property
(Land) - Personal Property
(a) Personal - Chattel (b) Intangible - stocks, trusts, accounts
Unowned Property
Property that has never been owned or has been abandoned by the owner
Possession
Exercise Dominion + Control AND Intent to control + exclude all others from it
Property in animals / wild things
Mortal Wounding and effective trapping
(acquired by occupancy) , land owner, capture, labor, reasonable prospects
Pre-Possessory Interest
Actor undertakes significant BUT incomplete steps to
achieve possession of abandoned property + the effort is interrupted by the unlawful acts of others
Right of 1st Possession
Rule of capture (wild animals / abandoned) , reasonable prospect , pre-possessory , etc
Rights of Subsequent Possession
Possession is indicia of ownership, and rebuttable presumption exists that those in possession are rightly in possession - someone would have to overcome the presumption of ownership . Ownership is relative .
Lost Property
Involuntary parted / accidentally misplaced - Finder Wins (except true owner)
Mislaid Property
Intentionally placed and then forgotten where - - Landowner Wins (except true owner)
Abandoned Property
Relinquished all rights to property - 1st person to come along and claim / possess , owns it
Treasure Trove
Hidden gold, silver, currency with appearance of antiquity placed to be retrieved later - Finder Wins
Trespassing Finder
Landowner wins (lost , mislaid, + abandoned)
Embedded Property
Something Embedded in the dirt - Finder Wins
Bailment
A temporary transfer of ownership for a specific reason from Bailor to Bailee w/ the intent that the property will be returned at the end of that reason
Gift Elements
In Vivos (while living) Gifts :
- Capacity - mental + ownership
- Intend - to make present (immediate) irrevocable transfer of ownership
- Delivery - Transfer of possession to point of no return
(a) Actual physical
(b) Constructive - Acceptance - Presumed Unless Rejected
Rights by Creation
You have no ownership / property rights in cells removed form the body for the purposes of conversion (Moore Cell Line)
Adverse Possession
A doctrine that allows a non-owner who actually possesses land w/o permission of the true owner (i.e. Formal title holder) to acquire ownership of that land.
Elements of Adverse Possession:
1) Actual Entry
2) Exclusive Possession
3) Open and Notorious
4) Adverse and Hostile
5) Continuous
Color Of Title
Vs
Claim of Title
Color or Title: a claim founded on a written instrument (deed, will) but this written document has a defect. It looks valid on it’s face, but it is in fact wrong. (A subjective state of mind)
Claim of Title: the hostile claim of right on the part of the adverse possessor. (An objective state of mind)
Define: tacking
Tacking: add successive periods of AP by different trespassers together if these persons were in privity
Define and explain: Privity
When the earlier possessor gives the next possessor a title document to transfer title to the next successor or if the successor is an heir to the AP possessor
Hypo: rancher owns a huge ranch. Rancher knows that there is someone in the back corner deep in the woods, but doesn’t care because he isn’t hurting anything.
Is the adverse possessor open and notorious?
Yea, because the owner knows he is there so he actual knowledge trumps the constructive.
As long as the adverse possessor is arable, even if it takes effort, plus the actual knowledge of his existence, equals the open and notorious requirement.
Hypo: A and B are neighbors. A puts up a fence 10 feet into B’s property. The statute runs. B then objects and threatens A. A Is scared and moves the fence back. Who owns the land?
The land belongs to A because the statute has already run. A cannot abandon his right to the land.
** not sure **
Hypo: a 3 foot encroachment, P thinks it’s only 1 foot. Doesn’t care about 1 foot, but would care about 3. How much does D own? One or three?
If the encroacher thinks it’s 3 feet then he gets all 3. If he thinks it’s only 1 foot than he gets one.
What is a “Finder?”
To have “rightful possession” over the personal property of another.
Elements of Bailment:
1) Intent: intent to have dominion and control
2) Possession: rightful possession of the goods of another.
Hypo: a man is dying from a gun shot wound. Gives his son his watch and tells him that he wants his son to have his watch if he dies from the wound. The man then recovers, and is hit and killed by a taxi exiting the hospital. Valid gift?
It would be a valid Causa Mortis gift which was revoked.
Hypo: afraid of dying from a heart attack, a father gives his son a watch. The father survives the heart attack but doesn’t ask for the watch back: what occurs?
The gift becomes and inter Vivos gift, and is the Property of the son.
O is the owner of a ring. O leaves the ring at Ds house. D calls her and tells her that she left it. O tells her to keep it as a gift, what occurs?
What if O asks for it back the next day?
A valid gift, the ring is now Ds.
O can ask for it back, but it legally belongs to D. D does not have to return it.
What are examples of Bailments?
coat check, valet parking, repair shops, suit cases checked at the airport
