Zoning and more!

Question 1

What are the elements of nuisance?

Answer 1

(1) Intentional
(2) Nontrespassory
(3) Unreasonable
(4) Substantial interference
(5) Effects use and enjoyment of land

Question 2

What does it mean for a nuisance to be intentional?

Answer 2

(1) Defendnat acts for the purpose of causing harm
or;
Knows that the harm resulting is substantially certain

Question 3

What does it mean for a nuisance claim to be nontrespassory?

Answer 3

(1) Intrusion is non physical such as
(2) Odor, noise, Light, Vibrations

Question 4

What does it mean for a nuisance to be unreasonable?

Answer 4

(1) Majority Rule: Gravity of the harm outweighs the utility of the conduct
(2) Minority Rule: Conduct that causes substantial harm

Question 5

What does it mean for a nuisance to substantially interfere?

Answer 5

(1) Invasion must be real and appreciable
(2) upon a plaintiffs interests
(3) Which is more than “slight inconvinience” or “Petty annoyance”

Question 6

What does it mean for conduct to affect use and enjoyment of land?

Answer 6

(1) Affects use of enjoyment of land in a manner such as
(2) Damage to the property
(3) Personal injury to the occupants

Question 7

What are the gravity of harm factors?

Answer 7

(1) Extent of the harm involved
(2) The character of the harm involved
(3) social value that the law attaches to the use invaded
(4) suitability of the use invaded to the character of the locality
(5) Burden on the person avoiding the harm

Question 8

What are the Utility of conduct factors?

Answer 8

(1) social value that the law attaches to the primary purpose of the conduct
(2) Suitability of the conduct to the character of the locality
(3) the impracticability of preventing/avoiding the invasion

Question 9

What is the Euclid test?

Answer 9

(1) An ordinance violates the Due Process Clause
if
(2) the provisions are clearly arbitrary and unreasonable
(3) have no substantial relation to
(i) public health
(ii) safety
(iii) morals
(iv) general welfare

Question 10

Who has the burden of proof for zoning ordinances?

Answer 10

(1) A zoning ordinance is presumed constitutional
(2) So the party attacking the ordinance has the burden of proof

Question 11

Give three theories of property

Answer 11

(1) Locke labor theory
(2) Bentham utilitarian theory
(3) Hegel personhood theory

Question 12

What are the four rights in the “Bundle of Sticks”

Answer 12

(1) Right to transfer
(2) Right to exclude
(3) Right to use
(4) Right to Destroy

Question 13

Can body parts be sold?

Answer 13

Generally, no - Look to ‘Moore’

Question 14

What are the elements of adverse possession?

Answer 14

(1) Actual Possession
(2) Exclusive possesstion
(3) Open and notorious possession
(4) Adverse and hostile possession
(5) Continuous possession

Question 15

What does it meant for AP possession to be actual?

Answer 15

(1) Claimaint physically uses the land in a same manner as a reasonable owner

Question 16

What does it mean for AP to be exclusive?

Answer 16

(1) Possession cannot be shared with the owner or public
(2) Ask if “one’s use precluded the other’s”

Question 17

What does it mean for AP to be open and notorious?

Answer 17

(1) Possession must be visible and obvious such that
(2) an owner who made a reasonable inspection would become aware of the adverse claim

Question 18

What does it mean for AP to be Adverse and Hostile?

Answer 18

(1) Majority: ignores claimaints state of mind
(2) Minorty: Requires good faith
(3) Very few: Requires bad faith

Question 19

What does it mean for AP to be continuous?

Answer 19

(1) Posession must be as continuous as a reasonable owners possession would be
(2) For a statutory period most commonly 10-20 years

Question 20

What are two rationales for adverse possession?

Answer 20

(1)Correcting title defects
(2) Protecting personhood - land used for a long time “becomes part of your being”

Question 21

Verticleness; English common law, What is the historic common law rule?

Answer 21

“Owners property rights extend from the center of the earth to the heavens.”

Question 22

Verticleness; 3 Zones approach, What case explains this one?

Answer 22

Causby

Question 23

Causby Facts

Answer 23

(1) Causby had a farm next to a military airport
(2) The airport had to fly through his property boundaries at ~ 83 feet
(3) Flight noise killed his chickens and disturbed him

Question 24

Verticleness; 3 Zones approach, explain it

Answer 24

There are 3 zones of airspace

(High) Public Highway
(Mid) A taking if intrusion is:
(1) Immediate
(2) Direct
(3) Subtracts from the owners enjoyment
and;
(4) Limits owners exploitation
(Low) Obviously a taking

Finally (5) It is not obvious where each zone starts and ends.

Question 25

Subsurface Ownership; BP chemicals test

Answer 25

Property owner owns what is beneath them where they might
(1) reasonably
and;
(2) foreseeably use it

Question 26

BP chemicals facts

Answer 26

1) BP was shoving chemicals into the ground
(2) BP’s chemicals were probably seeping into the other guy’s subsurface
(3) Even so, it was not a trespass because they weren’t going to use the land as deep as the chemicals maybe, probably were.

Question 27

Water Law; Surface water, what are the 3 Surface water approaches?

Answer 27

(1) Riprarian System
(2) Prior Appropriation
(3) Permit System

Question 28

Water Law; Surface water, What is a Riparian system?

Answer 28

if;
(1) your property adjoins a water source
then;
(2) you get reasonable use

Question 29

Water Law; Surface water, What is the prior appropriation system?

Answer 29

(1) The first person
(2) to divert the water for
(3) beneficial use
(4) gets water rights

Note: Not exactly sure what this looks like in practice

Question 30

Water Law; Surface water, What is a permit system?

Answer 30

(1) The government regulates water use.
(2)People gotta apply for a permit to use the water

Question 31

Water law; ground water, What is the reasonable use system?

Answer 31

Surface owner of a property can use ground water for a reasonable use

Question 32

Water law; ground water, What is the Correlatve rights system?

Answer 32

Property owners get a proportional share of the ground water

Note: not exactly sure what this looks like in practice - is it proportional to the amount of surface you own??

Question 33

Water law; ground water, What is a permit system?

Answer 33

Government regulates water use, people gotta apply for a permit to use the water