Water Rights
what are the two conflicting rules for water rights called?
Riparian Rights and Prior Appropriation
What is the extent of a person's property rights below the surface of their land?
According to common law, you have rights below your property to the center of the earth. But in practice, one's rights normally only extend just below the surface. Rights get much weaker about 1-2 miles below your land.
A gives B two suitcases to store for him while he is at a meeting. What is the correct relationship between A and B?
A is the bailor and B is the bailee.
True or False:
Liens only apply to real property.
False.
Liens apply to Real AND Personal property.
What sticks in the bundle of sticks does a bailee have?
Bailee only has the "possession" stick
What rights do owners have over water in states that follow the Riparian Rule?
Owners do not have property in the water itself but have the right to “reasonable use” while it naturally flows by.
True or False.
First person to extract oil owns it.
True!
Only actual possession of the oil grants one full property rights over it.
What are the two elements needed to create an implied bailment relationship?
Possession and Control
A lien is a security interest that a creditor holds on the property of a debtor. What right does the lien give the creditor?
A lien gives the creditor the right to take possession of the property if payments aren't made.
Liens because banks retain the right to repossess your home if you fail to pay your mortgage.
In Colorado, how are water rights allocated?
The first party to put water to productive or beneficial use gets rights to the water. This is similar to the "first possession" rule.
What are 2 requirements of the rule of capture
1. must drill on your own land
2. must capture the oil exclusively on your own property
True or False: Bailments only apply to personal property.
True!
When can a creditor not repossess property?
If repossession breaches the peace, such that it creates violence or risks inciting violence.
True or False.
Assuming responsibility for one's property automatically creates a bailment relationship.
False. To create a bailment relationship, one must have both possession and control.
An owner cannot use water in a way that prejudices another's use of it
If Fracking fluid leaks onto another's property that constitutes trespass.
True.
Fracking fluid is a non-natural, non-fugitive resource that can constitute trespass if it leaks onto a neighbor's property.
Is the following an implied bailment?
The car owner leaves his vehicle in an open, unattended parking lot. The owner puts coins in a meter, receives a ticket, and parks the vehicle himself.
No. A bailment relationship is implied between a parking garage and a customer where the operator of the parking garage assumes control and custody of the vehicle, which did not happen here.
What are 2 types of liens?
Mortgages and Mechanics/Construction Liens
True or False.
The bailee's right to recover for value or damaged property exists independently of the bailor's right to recover.
True!
The bailor cannot double dip and sue a wrongdoer after a bailee already did.
(1) get consent from all other owners using the water
(2) or exclusively use the water for 20 years
What is the rule for when the Rule of Capture applies?
applies only if the oil is extracted from a COMMON reservoir that spans both pieces of land, allowing the potential for the oil to migrate from one property to the other
What rights does a bailee have if a third party damages property while it is in the bailee's possession?
When a person wrongfully deprives another of property the rule is that whoever is in possession of the property at that time has title to it. Therefore, if the property is damaged while in the bailee's possession, he has a right to recovery for the value of the damaged property. If the bailee receives an amount beyond the value of the property, he must give that remainder to the bailor.
If there are multiple liens on a property, which lien gets paid first?
J SPLIT!
California: uses the "first in time, first in right" rule in which the first lien has priority and is the one that gets paid off first.
But, most jurisdictions use a statutory structuring of priority that is based on the type of lien.
If you pump water or oil back into your land and it leaks onto the adjacent neighbor's property, is this a trespass?
No. Oil/water are natural resources.
Therefore, when you pump it back into your land, it becomes a "wild" fugitive resource and whoever captures it first owns it.