Property

Spring 2011

Prof. William Fisher

Syllabus


Abbreviations:

DK = Jesse Dukeminier, James Krier, Gregory Alexander, & Michael Schill, Property (7th ed. 2010)
M = multilithed materials available at the Distribution Center

 

Part I: The Creation and Allocation of Property Rights

A. Property in Land

  • Johnson v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. 543 (1823) [DK 3-10]
  • Notes 1-7 [DK 10-18]

    • B. Property in Wild Animals

  • Ghen v. Rich, 8 Fed. 159 (D.Mass. 1881) [DK 26-28]
  • Melville, Moby Dick, chpt. 89 [M 1-3]
  • Andrews, "Tuna Boats Battle," Boston Globe, Sept. 17, 1985 [M 4]
    Labor and Possession as Sources of Property:

    • C. Property in Ideas

  • Introductory Note [M 15]
  • International News Service v. Associated Press, 248 U.S. 215 (1918) [M 16-22]
  • Cheney Brothers v. Doris Silk Corp., 35 F. 2d 279 (1930) [DK 61-62]
  • Smith v. Chanel, 402 F.2d 562 (9th Cir. 1968) [DK 62]
  • Baird, "Common Law Intellectual Property and the Legacy of INS," 50 U. Chi.. L. Rev. 411 (1983) [DK 63]
  • Notes 1-2 [DK 63-65]
  • Cohen, "Transcendental Nonsense and the Functional Approach," 35 Colum. L. Rev. 809, 814-17 (1935) [M 23-25]
  • Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 (1984) [M 26-46]
  • An Act Relative to the Preservation of Art (Mass. 1985) [M 47-48]

    • D. Property in Water

  • Evans v. Merriweather, 4 Ill. 492 (1842) [M 49-51]
  • Coffin v. Left Hand Ditch Co., 6 Colo. 443 (1882) [M 52-54]
    Economic Analysis as a Method for Allocating Entitlements:
  • Colorado v. New Mexico, 459 U.S. 176 (1982); 104 S.Ct. 2433 (1984) [M 98-111]
  • Gaffney, "Economic Aspects of Water Resource Policy" [M 112-115]

    • E. Property in People

  • Stampp, The Peculiar Institution 206-16 (1956) [M 116-120]
  • State v. Mann, 13 N.C. 269 (1829) [M 121-123]
  • Higginbotham, Suppmentary Materials on Mann [M 124-139]
  • Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll 27-49 (1972) [M 140-158]
  • Prichard, "A Market for Babies?," 34 U. Tor. L.J. 341 (1984) [M 159-172]

    • F. Property in Oneself

  • Moore v. Regents of the University of California, 51 Cal. 3d 120 (1990) [DK 70-83]
  • Notes 1-3 [DK 83-99]
    • The "Personality" Theory of Property:

     

    Part II: Mechanisms for the Transfer of Property Rights

    A. Conquest

  • review: Johnson v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. 543 (1823) [DK 3-10]

    • B. The Law of Finders

  • Armory v. Delamirie, 1 Strange 505 (K.B. 1722) [DK 98]
  • Notes 1-5 [DK 98-101]
  • Hannah v. Peel, 1945 K.B. 509 [DK 101-106]
  • Notes 1-3 [DK 106-106]
  • McAvoy v. Medina, 11 Allen 548 (Mass. 1866) [DK 107-108]
  • Hamaker v. Blanchard, 90 Pa. 377 (1879) [M 213-214]
  • Notes 1-7 [DK 108-116]
  • Mass. General Laws, ch. 134 (1986) [M 215-216]

    • C. Adverse Possession, Prescription, and Estoppel

  • Introductory Note: Powell, Real Property [DK 116-117]
  • Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature bk. III, pt. 2, sec. 3 (1739-40) [M 217-224]
  • Mill, Principles of Political Economy bk. II, chap. 2 (7th ed. 1871) [M 225]
  • Holmes, "The Path of the Law" (1897) [DK 118]
  • Holmes, Letter to William James, April 1, 1907 [M 226]
  • Salmond's Jurisprudence 414-16 (2d ed. 1907) [M 227-228]
  • Van Valkenburgh v. Lutz, 304 N.Y. 95 (1952) [DK 122-131]
  • Notes on adverse possession [DK 131-135]
  • O'Keeffe v. Snyder, 83 N.J. 478 (1980) [DK 151-158]
  • Note on O'Keeffe [DK 159-161]
  • Notes on Adverse Possession of Chattels [DK 161-163]
  • Note on Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 [DK 163-164]
  • South Norwalk Lodge, No. 709, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks v. Palco Hats, 100 A.2d 735 (Ct. 1953) [M 229-230]
  • Notes on Prescriptive Easements [M 231-234]
  • Holbrook v. Taylor, 532 S.W.2d 763 (Ky. 1976) [DK 774-777]
  • The Statute of Frauds, 29 Chas. 2, c. 3 (1677) [DK 541-542]
  • Shepard v. Purvine, 196 Or. 348 (1952) [DK 777]
  • Henry v. Dalton, 98 R.I. 150 (1959) [DK 777-778]

    • D. Disposition of Property upon the Death of the Owner

  • Mass. General Laws, chs. 190, 191 (1985) [M 235-245]
  • Glendon, "Matrimonial Property: A Comparative Study of Law and Social Change," 49 Tul. L. Rev. 21, 58-62 (1974) [M 246-249]
  • Butterfield, "Spinster's Will" (Boston Globe, July 2, 1986) [M 250-252]
  • "Pet Care: Where There's a Will," Boston Globe, Jan. 5, 2011
  • Introductory Note on Trusts [DK 273-275]
  • Broadway National Bank v. Adams, 133 Mass. 170 (1882) [DK 276-278]
  • J. Peder Zane, "The Rise of Incentive Trusts; Six Feet Under and Overbearing," New York Times, March 12, 1995 [M 253-254]
  • Wesley United Methodist Church v. Harvard College, 366 Mass. 247 (1974) [M 255-258]
  • Langbein, "The Nonprobate Revolution and the Future of the Law of Succession," 97 Harv. L. Rev. 1108, 1108-26, 1134-37, 1140-41 (1984) [M 259-272]

    • E. Gifts

  • Note on the Delivery Requirement [DK 164-166]
  • Note 1 on Gifts Causa Mortis [DK 173]
  • Gruen v. Gruen, 68 N.Y.2d 48 (1986) [DK 174-180]
  • Notes 1-5 [DK 180-181]

    • F. Sales

  • Note on "Buying and Selling Real Estate " [DK 519-528]
  • Rose, "Crystals and Mud in Property Law," 40 Stan. L. Rev. 577 (1988) [M 273-306]

    •  

    Part III: Varieties of Permissible Interests

    A. Freehold Estates

    The Fee Simple Absolute:
    The Fee Tail:
    The Life Estate:
    Defeasible Estates:

    B. Future Interests

  • Introductory Note [DK 253-254]
  • Notes on Future Interests in Transferors [DK 255-257]
  • Notes on Future Interests in Transferees [DK 258-270]
  • Introductory Notes on the Rule Against Perpetuities [DK 285-288]
  • Note on Gifts to Classes [DK 288-289]
  • The Symphony Space v. Pergola Properties, 88 N.Y.2d 466 (1996) [DK 292-303]
  • Notes 1-5 [DK 303-305]
  • Notes on the "Perpetuities Reform" [DK 305-310]
  • Problem Set #2 [handout]

    • C. Nonpossessory Interests

  • Introductory Note on Easements [DK 765-768]
  • Note on Negative Easements [DK 842-845]
  • Notes and Problems on Covenants Running With the Land [DK 847-851]
  • Tulk v. Moxhay, 41 Eng. Rep. 1143 (1848) [DK 854-856]
  • Notes 1-6 [DK 856-859]
  • Problem Set #3 [handout]
  • Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948) [DK 876-879]
  • Notes 1-5 [DK 880-881]
  • Table of Cases construing the "touch and concern" requirement [M 314-315]
  • Dworkin, "Hard Cases," 88 Harv. L. Rev. 1057, 1059-60, 1083, 1087-1101 (1975) [M 316-329]

    • D. Nonfreehold Estates

    1. The Catalogue of Estates

  • Notes on the Term of Years, Periodic Tenancy, Tenancy at Will, and Tenancy at Sufferance [DK 421-423, 427]
  • Problem Set #4 [handout]

    • 2. Main Aspects of the Landlord-Tenant Relationship

  • Lecture on leases; assignments and subleases; landlord's duty to deliver possession; waste; landlord's remedies when tenant defaults

    • 3. Condition of the Premises: Revolution in Tenants' Rights

  • Intoductory Notes [DK 482, 489-491, 492]
  • Hilder v. St. Peter, 144 Vt. 150 (1984) [DK 493-499]
  • Notes on the Implied Warranty of Habitability [DK 499-503]
  • Note on Retaliatory Eviction [DK 503]
  • Peterson v. Superior Court of Riverside County, 10 Cal. 4th 1185 (1995) [M 330-349]
  • Kline v. 1500 Massachusetts Avenue Apartment Corp., 439 F.2d 477 (D.C.Cir. 1970) [M 350-355]
  • Notes on the Landlord's Tort Liability [DK 504-505]
  • Letter from Judge Wright to Prof. Rabin (Oct. 14, 1982) [M 356]
  • Advertisement, Rent Stabilization Association of New York, New York Times, March 18, 1987 [M 357]
  • Kennedy, "The Effect of the Warranty of Habitability on Low Income Housing: `Milking' and Class Violence," 15 Fla. St. L. Rev. 485, 485-92, 496-501, 518-19 (1987) [M 358-371]
  • Radin, "Property and Personhood," 34 Stan. L. Rev. 957 (1982) [M 372-402]
  • James, The Portrait of a Lady (1871) [M 403]

    • 4. The Anti-Discrimination Principle

  • The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. secs. 3601-3631 (1984) [DK 431-431]
  • Notes 1-7 [DK 432-438]
  • Holloway, "Brokers Said to Exploit Fear to Stir Queens Home Sales," New York Times, May 5, 1995 [M 404-405]
  • Posner, Economic Analysis of Law 525-28, 533-34 (1977) [M 406-409]
  • Karst, "The Freedom of Intimate Association," 89 Yale L.J. 624 (1980) [M 410-415]

    • 5. Rent Control and Its Supplements

  • Cromwell Associates v. Mayor and Council of Newark, 211 N.J. Super. 462 (1985) [M 416-421]
  • Chicago Board of Realtors v. Chicago, 819 F.2d 732 (1987) [DK 508-511]
  • Notes on the Debate over Rent Control [DK 511-515]
  • Pennell v. City of San Jose, 108 S.Ct. 849 (1988 ) [M 422-429]
  • Braschi v. Stahl Associates Co., 544 N.Y.S. 2d 784 (Ct. App. 1989 ) [M 430-435]
  • Radin, "Residential Rent Control," 15 Phil. & Pub. Aff. 350 (1986) [M 436-455]
  • Kolbert, "The Rent Debate: Studies Suggest Tenants In Upscale Neighborhoods Would Be Hit the Hardest," New York Times, April 6, 1997 [M 456-460]

    • E. Concurrent Estates

    1. The Common-Law System and its Reform

  • Note on tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entirety [DK 319-322]
  • Problem Set #5 [handout]
  • Notes on Marital Property and Coverture [DK 359-361]
  • Coraccio v. Lowell Five Cents Savings Bank, 415 Mass. 145 (1993) [M 461-466]

    • 2. Community Property

  • Notes (excluding "Problems") [DK 387-395]

    • 3. Modern Systems for Distributing Property upon Dissolution of a Marriage or Relationship

  • Note on the systems in force in common-law jurisdictions [DK 369-371]
  • Areen, "Standards for Awarding Property, Alimony and Child Support" in Family Law (1985) [M 467-472]
  • In re Marriage of Graham, 574 P.2d 75 (Colo. 1978) [DK 371-376]
  • Notes 1-2 [DK 376-377]
  • Elkus v. Elkus, 572 N.Y.S.2d 901 (1991) [DK 378-383]
  • Oldam, "Putting Asunder in the 1990s," 80 Cal. L. Rev. 1091 (1992) [DK 383]
  • Notes 1-2 [DK 383-384]
  • Sample Cohabitation Agreement [M 473-476]
  • Marvin v. Marvin, 18 Cal. 3d 660 (1976) [M 476-486]
  • Fineman, "Implementing Equality: Ideology, Contradiction and Social Change," 1983 Wis. L. Rev. 789, 789-842 [M 487-514]
  • Weitzman, The Divorce Revolution 70-73, 104-08 (1985) [M 515-521]

    •  

    Part IV: The Meaning of Ownership

    Introduction:

    A. Entitlements Associated with Ownership of Land

    1. Rights to Quiet Enjoyment (Privileges to Use and Exploit)

    2. Rights to Support (Privileges to Dig)

    3. Rights to Light (Privileges to Shadow)

    4. Rights to Exclude (Privileges to Enter)

    5. Duties to Render the Premises Safe

    B. Modification of those Entitlements by Municipal Government

    1. Introduction:

    2. Legitimate and Illegitimate Objectives:

    3. Exclusionary Zoning:

    C. Modification of Those Entitlements by Private Organizations

  • Note on Condominiums [DK 896-899]
  • Nahrsted v. Lakeside Village Condominium Assoc., 11 Cal. Reptr. 2d 299 (1992) [DK 900-910]
  • Ellickson, "Cities and Homeowners Associations," 130 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1519, 1526-30 (1982) [M 678-680]
  • Frug, "Cities and Homeowners Associations: A Reply," 130 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1589 (1982) [M 681-692]
  • Ellickson, "A Reply to Frug," 130 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1602, 1604-08 (1982) [M 693-696]

    •  

    Part V: "Nor Shall Private Property Be Taken For Public Use, Without Just Compensation"

    A. The Power of Eminent Domain:

  • Introductory Note [DK 1061-1062]
  • Notes on economic justifications of the power [DK 1063-1065]

    • B. Regulatory Takings:

  • Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922) [DK 1103-1110]
  • Notes 1-4 [DK 1111-1113]
  • Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365 (1926) [DK 930-938] (review)
  • Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978) [DK 1113-1128]
  • Notes 1-3 [DK 1128-1131]
  • Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74 (1980) (review) [M 697-710]
  • Pennell v. City of San Jose, 108 S.Ct. 849 (1988) (review) [M 711-718]
  • Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 112 S.Ct. 2886 (1992) [DK 1131-1148]
  • Notes 1-5 [DK 1148-1151]
  • Kelvo v. City of New London [DK1065-1073]
  • Notes on Public Use [DK 1073-1077]

    • C. Efforts to Make Sense of the Doctrine:

  • Note on Academic Perspectives (theories of Sax, Michelman, Ackerman, and Epstein) [DK 1189-1195]
  • Radin, "Property and Personhood," 34 Stan. L. Rev. 957, 1002-08 (1982) [M 719-724]



    • Last modified January 23, 2011

    William Fisher

    Email: tfisher@law.harvard.edu
    Homepage: tfisher.org