Licenses and Profits Flashcards
What is a license? How is a license different from an easement?
A license is a mere privilege to enter another’s land for some delineated purpose.
Unlike an easement, a license is NOT an interest in land. It is merely a privilege, revocable at will of the licensor.
May a license be transferred?
No. A license is personal to the licensee and, thus, inalienable. Any attempt to transfer a license results in revocation by operation of law.
Is a writing required to create a license?
No. Licenses are not subject to the Statute of Frauds because they do not convey any interest in the land.
NOTE: A failed attempt to create an easement results in a license. Thus, if a grantor orally grants an easement for more than one year, it is unenforceable because it is not in writing. The grantee does not have a valid easement, but does have a license.
How may a license be terminated?
Licenses are freely revocable, at the will of the licensor, unless estoppel applies to bar revocation.
What are the two “classic” license cases?
(1) Ticket cases: a ticket (e.g., to a play or sporting event) creates a freely revocable license.
(2) Neighbors talking by the fence: casual conversation between people (e.g., neighbors owning adjoining lots) granting access to one or the other’s land creates only a license unless it is committed to writing and signed by the owner of the servient landowner (for purposes of the Statute of Frauds)
When will estoppel apply to bar revocation of a license?
Only when the licensee has invested substantial money or labor or both in reasonable reliance on the license’s continuation. The license becomes an easement by estoppel, which lasts until the holder receives sufficient benefit to reimburse him for his expenditures.
What is a license coupled with an interest? When is it revocable?
A license coupled with an interest is when someone has license to enter another’s land for purposes of some interest that requires the licensee’s entry. For example, the buyer of a chattel may enter the seller’s land to remove the chattel, or a future interest holder may enter and inspect the land for waste.
A license coupled with an interest is irrevocable as long as the interest lasts.
What is the “profit” in the context of licenses?
The profit entitles its holder to enter the servient land and take from it some resources (e.g., the soil, some substance of the soil like minerals, or some product of the property like fish or game).
What are the rules for creating and terminating profits?
All of the rules governing creation, alienation, and termination of EASEMENTS are applicable to profits. In addition, a profit may be extinguished through surcharge (i.e., misuse that overly burdens the servient estate).
