Acquiring Property
What are the elements of capture?
1. Manifest an unequivocal intent to appropriate the animal
2. Deprive the animal of its natural liberty
3. Bring the animal within hunter's certain control
What is the holding in INS v. AP?
There is a quasi property in news and INS engaged in unfair business practices.
What is lost property?
Accidentally misplaced.
What are the elements of adverse possession?
1. Actual
2. Open and notorious
3. Exclusive
4. Adverse/hostile
5. Continuous
6. For the statutory period
What are the elements for inter vivos gift?
1. Donative Intent
2. Delivery
3. Acceptance
What is the capture exception?
(Hint: Capture does not only apply to animals)
There is a negligence exception to the capture rule. A party may be liable for negligence when they waste shared natural resources that are common to neighbors for free-flowing property like oil, gas, etc.
What does the quasi-property in news protect?
There is a quasi-property in hot news that gives a news company the right to exclude their competitors while the news still has commercial value.
What is mislaid property?
Intentionally left, but forgotten
What is required for the objective standard of adverse/hostile?
State of mind is irrelevant. The objective test is met when there is proof of conduct to meet all other elements and the owner has not given permission to be there.
What kind of delivery is allowed for inter vivos gift?
Manual: physical delivery; Constructive: physical delivery of access to thing; Symbolic: representative of the gift, like a note.
What is the holding in Popov v. Hayashi and what rule came from it?
Popov and Hayashi each have a pre-possessory interest in the homerun ball.
A pre-possessory interest occurs when as a result of the unlawful acts of others you are interrupted, you have a legally cognizable pre-possessory interest that is sufficient for an act of conversion but less than full ownership.
What is Holmes's dissent?
He argues that this issue could have been resolved by INS giving credit to AP and that a property rights depends on exclusion from all the world.
What is abandoned property?
Owner gives up all rights; clear intent to abandon
What is required for the subjective standard for the adverse/hostile element?
(Hint: what are the different jurisdictional aproaches)
The subjective approach may require either “color of title,” “good faith,” or “bad faith.” For subjective, color of title requires a claim to a property based on an invalid document that the claimant believes was legitimate but was defective. Good faith requires an honest, but mistaken belief that they legally owned the land they occupied. Bad faith is when a person knows land does not belong to them and still intends to AP the property.
What kind of title results in a thief stealing a TV from Stacy?
Stacy has good title to the TV and the thief has voidable title that may turn into good title if they meet all the requirements for adverse possession by chattel.
What is the difference between U.S. v. Native title?
Land grants issued by the U.S. are superior to those issued by native Americans. Natives can only sell to the government and only the government can buy from them.
What is Brandeis's dissent?
Creating a property right is not costless and it might result in perpetuation in the anti-commons. The legislature should make a rule if necessary.
What is treasure trove?
Money/other valuables that are ancient and concealed long ago.
What cases explicitly discuss tacking? What is tacking?
Howard v. Kunto and Brown v. Gobble
Tacking: Judge uses equitable power to add predecessor’s times to claimant’s time to meet SOL period.Most states allow tacking only if the successive occupants are in privity.
What is the merchant exception to theft of chattel?
Merchants who deal in goods of that kind have the power to transfer good title to a buyer. A person with voidable title has power to transfer a good title to a good faith purchaser for value.
What is the difference between property and liabilty rules?
A property rule means an owner voluntary agrees to part rights through a voluntary transaction and liability rules govern when an owner's rights can be breached so long as they are made whole through compensation.
Why is news a property right? (Hint: 5 reasons)
1. Substantial Investment
2. Time sensitive info
3. Free riding
4. Direct competition
5. Depletes incentive to invest
What is the rule for relativity of title and what is the exception? (Hint: has something to do with where property is found)
Relativity of Title Rule: The finder acquires title to the lost property that is superior to the claims of all other persons except the true owner.
Exception: If an object is found embedded in soil/land or within house, the object belongs to the landowner (locus in quo), not the finder.
What is the discovery rule for adverse possession of chattels?
SOL starts at time of loss, wrongful taking or possession and true owner can stop SOL with proof of diligent search. SOL resumes when true owner knew or should have known where property was, who possessed it, etc. However, Def can defend by proof of superior title.
What is a disability doctrine and why is it important for adverse possession?
Allows a person to toll the period for AP is owner has qualifying “disability” (minor, unsound mind, imprisoned).