Areas of Improvement Flashcards
How can the government limit the class of persons who are allowed to vote in an election?
If the elected official will serve in a capacity that has a special impact on the enfranchised class.
Mortgages and Fixtures
A court will consider the degree to which an item is attached, whether there will be damage to a structure if the item is removed, and whether general custom dictates that such an item stays with a property or goes out with the seller.
Equitable Mortgage
If a court concludes, by clear and convincing evidence, that a deed was really given for security purposes, it will treat it as an “equitable mortgage” and require that creditor to foreclose it by judicial action.
Transferring Mortgage Interests
All parties to a mortgage or deed of trust can transfer their interests. Ordinarily, the mortgagor transfers by deeding the property while the mortgagee usually transfers by endorsing the note and executing a separate assignment of the mortgage. The note and mortgage must pass to the same person for the transfer to be complete.
Dedication of Land for Public Use
(1) Dedication and (2) Acceptance. Under common law, an offer of dedication may be made by: (1) a written or oral statement; (2) the submission of a map or plat showing the dedication; or (3) the opening of the land to public use. Acceptance can occur by: (1) formal resolution; (2) the approval of a map or plat; or (3) the actual assumption of maintenance or construction of improvements.
When does the suretyship clause not apply?
When the surety promise was made to the principal (seller) and not to the obligee (the creditor).
Doctrine of Constructive Conditions
A party’s material breach of an obligation, if uncured, may discharge the other party’s obligation under the contract.
Promise to Settle a Claim
May be consideration to support a return promise so long as there is a good faith dispute over the validity of the claim.
Are future interests alienable?
Yes (possibility of reverter and right of reentry)
Joint Conveyance versus Unilateral Conveyance in a Joint Tenancy
joint conveyance: does not destroy the joint tenancy, but the new party is a tenant in common.
unilateral conveyance: destroys the joint tenancy, and all parties become tenants in common.
Mortgagor Transferring Title to Another
In the majority of jurisdictions, when a mortgagor transfers title to another, and the transferee takes “subject to” the mortgage, that means that the transferee will not be liable to the mortgagee on the promise underlying the mortgage. So the third party cannot be sued on the debt. But the mortgage follows the property and if the transferee does not make the payments, the mortgagee may foreclose on the mortgage. In any event, the mortgagor, the buyer, remains liable on the mortgage after the transfer and she can be sued on the debt. If the facts showed that the third party had “assumed” the mortgage, rather than merely taking “subject to” it, then he could have been sued on the debt.
Doctrine of Changed Conditions and Restrictive Covenants
Restrictive covenants on all lots in a subdivision such as this can be voided if changed conditions have made the property unusable for the specified use, and this means that the entire subdivision must have changed so significantly that enforcement of the restriction would be inequitable. If some houses in the center of the subdivision are not affected by the pollution, then none of the restrictions can be voided; if all lots are affected, then all restrictions are voided.
What is the preferred remedy for breaches in a land purchase?
Specific Performance. While the executor could obtain a damage remedy based on the difference between the contract price and the market value of the land on the date of the breach, that would leave him with the task as executor of trying to resell the property. Because land is considered unique, a buyer is entitled to specific performance of the contract. The seller (the executor) can also get specific performance if the buyer is in breach.
Exception to Latent Defect Rule
Landlords are liable for latent defects even if they neither knew nor should have known of the defect if the lease is for a short term and the property is furnished. This is an exception to the general rule that a landlord is not liable for latent defects unless the landlord either knew or had reason to know of the defects.
Increasing Rent for a Holdover Tenant
While the rent (as well as other terms) of the new periodic tenancy will generally be the same as the old tenancy, there is an exception when the landlord has told the tenant of a future higher rent and that notification came before the expiration of the old lease.
An easement by necessity is NEVER
in writing.
For there to be a valid merger which will extinguish an easement, _______
the duration of the servient estate must be equal to or longer than the duration of the dominant estate (and therefore the easement).
Can a life tenant tear down improvements because she wants to make more profitable use of the land?
No, but an exception exists when changed conditions have made the destruction of the improvement reasonably necessary.
Evidence of Religious Beliefs of a witness ______
Is not admissible to challenge credibility
If a buyer accepts goods that breach one of the seller’s warranties, the basic measure of damages is _______
The difference between the value of the goods as delivered and the value they would have had if they had been according to the contract.
Assignment in a requirements contract.
Generally, the right to receive goods under a requirements contract is not assignable because the obligor’s duties could change significantly However, the UCC allows the assignment of requirements contracts if the assignee acts in good faith not to alter the terms of the contract.
The principle of one person, one vote generally is inapplicable where _______.
There is an at-large system of election.
A liquidated damages clause is enforceable if:
(i) damages are difficult to ascertain at the time of the making of the contract, and (ii) the damages are a reasonable forecast of compensatory damages.
Evanescent Evidence
Fourth Amendment: There also is an exception to the warrant requirement for evanescent evidence, such as scrapings of tissues from under a suspect’s fingernails, which could be washed away. Whether such a warrantless search is reasonable is judged by the totality of the circumstances. If by its nature the evidence is likely to disappear before a warrant may be obtained, the evanescent evidence exception applies.
Chain of Custody in Evidence
The proponent must show that the object has been held in a substantially unbroken chain of possession. It is not necessary to negate all possibilities of substitution or tampering; rather what is requires is to show adherence to some system of identification and custody.
Felony Convictions in Evidence
Judgments of felony convictions are admissible in both criminal and civil trials to prove any essential element to the judgment.
