Exam Guide 1
I. Right to Exclude v. Rights of Access 3
A. PUBLIC POLICY LIMITS ON THE RIGHT TO EXCLUDE 3
B. TRESPASS REMEDIES 4
A. ORIGINAL WORKS OF AUTHORSHIP 6
B. CONTRIBUTORY INFRINGEMENT 7
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, LTD., US (2005) 7
C. FAIR USE 7
Suntrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin Co., 11th Cir. (2001) 7
II. Liberty to Use vs. Security 8
A. LAND USE CONFLICTS AMONG NEIGHBORS 8
B. SURFACE WATER 9
Armstrong v. Francis Corp., N.J. (1956) 9
C. POLICY ARGUMENTS 9
D. DEFINING UNREASONABLE LAND USE 11
Page County Appliance Center, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., Iowa (1984) 11
Fancher v. Fagella, Va. (2007) 11
E. LIGHT AND AIR 13
Fountainebleau Hotel Corp. v. Forty-Five Twenty-Five Inc., Fla. Dist. Ct. App. (1959) 13
Prah v. Maretti, Wis. (1982) 13
A. LATERAL SUPPORT 14
Noone v. Price, W.Va. (1982) 14
B. SUBJACENT SUPPORT 15
Friendswood Development Co. v. Smith-Southwest Industries, Inc., Tex. (1978) 15
III. Immunity from Loss v. Power to Acquire 15
A. TITLE VERSUS POSSESSION 15
Brown v. Gobble, W.Va. (1996) 16
Romero v. Garcia, N.M. (1976) 16
Nome 2000 v. Fagerstrom, Alaska (1990) 16
B. JUSTIFICATIONS FOR ADVERSE POSSESSION 17
A. PRESCRIPTIVE EASEMENTS 18
Community Feed Store, Inc. v. Northeastern Culvert Corp., Vt. (1989) 18
B. OTHER INFORMAL WAYS TO TRANSFER TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY 19
Somerville v. Jacobs, W.Va. (1969) 19
C. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW 21
IV. Land Use Restrictions (Servitudes) 23
A. LICENSES 24
B. EASEMENTS BY ESTOPPEL 24
Holbrook v. Taylor, Ky. (1976) 25
C. CONSTRUCTIVE TRUSTS 25
Rase v. Castle Mountain Ranch, Mont. (1981) 25
D. EASEMENTS IMPLIED FROM PRIOR USE 26
Granite Properties Limited Partnership v. Manns, Ill. (1987) 26
E. EASEMENTS BY NECESSITY 27
Finn v. Williams, Ill. (1941) 27
Green v. Lupo, Wash. Ct. App. (1982) 28
Cox v. Glenbrook Co., Nev. (1962) 29
Henley v. Cablevision of St. Louis County, Inc., Mo. Ct. App. (1985) 29
A. COVENANTS 30
B. CREATION OF COVENANTS 32
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Dolgencorp, Inc., Fla. Dist. Ct. App. (2007) 32
Whitinsville Plaza v. Kotseas, Mass. (1979) 32
Davidson Brothers, Inc. v. D. Katz and Sons, Inc., N.J. (1990) 33
C. IMPLIED RECIPROCAL NEGATIVE SERVITUDES 33
Evans v. Pollock, Tex. (1990) 34
Sanborn v. McLean, Mich. (1925) 34
Riley v. Bear Creek Planning Committee, Cal. (1976) 34
A. INTERPRETATION OF AMBIGUOUS COVENANTS 35
Blevins v. Barry-Lawrence County Association for Retarded Citizens, Mo. (1986) 35
B. HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS AND CONDOMINIUMS 36
Appel v. Presley Cos., N.M. (1991) 37
C. RACIALLY DISCRIMINATORY COVENANTS 37
Shelley v. Kraemer, US (1948) 38
Evans v. Abney, US (1970) 38
A. ANTICOMPETITIVE COVENANTS 39
Davidson Brothers, Inc. v. D. Katz & Sons, Inc., Super. Ct. App. Div. (1994) 39
B. RULES AND BY-LAWS 40
O’Buck v. Cottonwood Village Condominium Association Inc., Alaska (1998) 40
Neuman v. Grandview at Emerald Hills, Inc., Fla. Dist. Ct. App. (2003) 40
C. CHANGED CONDITIONS 40
El Di, Inc. v. Town of Bethany Beach, Del. (1984) 40
D. RELATIVE HARDSHIP 41
E. OTHER EQUITABLE DEFENSES 41
F. STATUTES 42
Blakeley v. Gorin, Mass. (1974) 42
V. Estates System and Future Interests: 42
A. FEE SIMPLE ABSOLUTE 42
B. DEFEASIBLE FEES 43
C. LIFE ESTATES 44
D. FEE TAIL 45
A. INTERPRETATION OF AMBIGUOUS CONVEYANCES 45
Wood v. Board of County Commissioners of Fremont County, Wyo. (1988) 45
Cathedral of Incarnation in Diocese of Long Island, Inc. v. Garden City Co., App. Div. (1999) 46
Edwards v. Bradley, Va. (1984) 46
B. TRUSTS AND THE CY PRES DOCTRINE 47
C. REGULATORY RULES 47
Johnson v. Whiton, Mass. (1893) 47
D. RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES 47
E. ANTI-FEUDAL PRINCIPLE 48
DePeyster v. Michael, N.Y. (1852) 48
VI. Public Policy Limits on Enforceability of Servitudes and Future Interests 48
A. RESTRAINTS ON ALIENATION 48
B. DIRECT RESTRAINTS 49
Horse Pond Fish & Game Club v. Cormier, N.H. (1990) 49
C. GRANTOR CONSENT CLAUSES 49
Northwest Real Estate Co. v. Serio, Md. (1929) 49
Riste v. Eastern Washington Bible Camp, Wash. Ct. App. (1980) 49
D. RIGHTS OF FIRST REFUSAL 50
Wolinsky v. Kadison, Ill. App. Ct. (1983) 50
E. LEASING RESTRICTIONS 51
Woodside Village Condominium Assoc. v. Jahren, Fla. (2002) 51
VII. Common Ownership 51
A. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF CO-OWNERS 51
B. CONFLICTS OVER RENT AND POSSESSION 53
Olivas v. Olivas, N.M. Ct. App. (1989) 53
C. FAMILY CONFLICTS OVER USE OF COMMUNITY PROPERTY 53
Carr v. Deking, Wash. Ct. App. (1988) 53
Tenhet v. Boswell, Cal. (1976) 53
Kresha v. Kresha, Neb. (1985) 54
Swada v. Endo, Haw. (1977) 54
D. SEPARATE PROPERTY 54
E. COMMUNITY PROPERTY 55
F. OTHER ASPECTS OF MARITAL PROPERTY 55
VIII. Landlord/Tenant Law 55
A. LEASEHOLD ESTATES 55
Vasquez v. Glassboro Service Association, Inc., N.J. (1980) 56
B. CONFLICTS ABOUT OCCUPANCY 57
Kendall v. Ernest Pestana, Inc., Cal. (1985) 58
Slavin v. Rent Control Board of Brookline, Mass. (1990) 58
C. CONFLICTS ABOUT RENT 59
Sommer v. Kridel, N.J. (1977) 59
A. CONSTRUCTIVE EVICTION 60
Minjak Co. v. Randolph, N.Y. App. Div. (1988) 61
Blackett v. Olanoff, Mass. (1976) 61
B. WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY 61
Javins v. First National Realty Corp, D.C. Cir. (1970) 61
C. RETALIATORY EVICTION 62
Hillview Associates v. Bloomquist, Iowa (1989) 62
Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout, W.Va (1988) 62
Robinson v. Diamond Housing Corp, D.C. Cir. (1972) 63
IX. Real Estate Transactions 63
A. STRUCTURE OF TRANSACTION 63
A. REAL ESTATE FINANCE 64
B. REGULATING FORECLOSURE PROCESS 65
Central Financial Services, Inc. v. Spears, Miss. (1983) 65
C. ORIGINS OF SUBPRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS 65
M&T Mortgage Corp. v. Foy, N.Y. Sup. Ct. (2008) 65
D. FORFEITURE AND INSTALLMENT LAND CONTRACTS 66
Stonebraker. v. Zinn, W.Va. (1982) 66
Sebastian. v. Floyd, Ky. (1979) 66
E. EQUITABLE MORTGAGES 67
Koenig. v. Van Reken, Mich. Ct. App. (1979) 67
X. Anti-Discrimination Law in the Housing Market 67
A. DISCRIMINATION BY HOUSING PROVIDERS: 67
Asbury v. Brougham, 10th Cir. (1989) 68
United States v. Starrett City Associates, 2nd Cir. (1988) 68
B. THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866 69
City of Memphis v. Greene, US (1981) 69
C. SEX DISCRIMINATION: SEXUAL HARASSMENT 69
Edouard v. Kouzbal, Mass. (2002) 69
D. DISCRIMINATION BASED ON FAMILY STATUS 70
Human Rights Commission v. LaBrie. Inc., Vt. (1995) 70
A. DISCRIMINATION BASED ON MARITAL STATUS (UNMARRIED COUPLES) 70
McCready v. Hoffius, Mich. (1999) 70
B. DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION 71
State Ex Rel. Sprague v. City of Madison, Wis. (1996) 71
C. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 71
Poff v Caro, N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. (1987) 71
D. DISPARATE IMPACT CLAIMS 71
Huntington Branch NAACP v. Town of Huntington, US (1988) 72
E. SEX DISCRIMINATION: SHELTERS FOR BATTERED WOMEN 72
Doe v. City of Butler, 3rd Cir. (1989) 72
XI. Zoning 72
A. EXCLUSIONARY ZONING 72
Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mount Laurel, N.J. (1975) 72
B. ZONING PROCESS 73
C. CONDITIONAL/CONTRACT ZONING 74
Durand v. IDC Bellingham, L.L.C., Mass. (2003) 74
D. PRIOR NONCONFORMING USES 74
Town of Belleville v. Parrillo’s Inc., N.J. (1980) 74
E. VARIANCES 75
Cochran v. Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals, Va. (2004) 75
F. VESTED RIGHTS 75
Stone v. City of Wilton, Iowa (1983) 75
G. LIMITS ON PREFERENTIAL ZONING 75
H. EQUAL PROTECTION, SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS, AND FREE SPEECH 76
Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, US (2000) 76
XII. Regulatory Takings 76
A. PROPERTY AS MEDIATOR BETWEEN CITIZENS AND THE STATE 77
B. JUST COMPENSATION 77
C. REGULATORY TAKINGS PROBLEM 78
D. DETERMINATION OF TAKINGS 79
E. AD HOC TEST: FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE 80
Miller v. Schoene, US (1928) 80
Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, US (1978) 80
Keystone Bituminous Coal Association v. DeBenedictis, US (1987) 80
Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, US (2010) 81
A. PHYSICAL INVASIONS 82
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, US (1980) 82
Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp, US (1982) 82
B. DEPRIVATION OF ECONOMICALLY VIABLE USE 83
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, US (1992) 83
Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, US (2001) 84
Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, US (2002) 84
C. DEPRIVATION OF CORE PROPERTY RIGHTS: 85
Babbitt v. Youpee, US (1997) 85
Andrus v. Allard, US (1979) 85
D. VESTED RIGHTS: ESTABLISHED INVESTMENTS 85
Kaiser Aetna v. United States, US (1979) 85
Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel, US (1998) 85
Kelo v. City of New London, US (2005) 85