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Property I Sample Examination

Instructions

(These are the instructions that will be on the final exam).

You will have three hours to complete this exam. There are two essay questions. Each question is worth 50% of the final score. Each question has a 500-word limit. Anything you write past 500 words will not be read. Please use the word-count feature to check the length of each answer, or count the words if you are hand-writing the exam.

The exam is completely open-book. You can use anything you wish, so long as that it was printed before the distribution of this exam. Obtaining any new information from anyone or anything after the exam is prohibited.

Question

The year is 1839. The Republic of Texas has recently declared its independence. You are clerking for the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, and have been asked to prepare a memorandum explaining this very-Texas property problem. Because time is short, the Chief Justice wants a memorandum of no more than 500 words. (Y’all and other Texisms count as one word). If there are multiple possible outcomes, please discuss the options. Texas applies all of the common law property rules, as stated in the Restatement (First) of Property (which will be published in about 100 years). Any similarities or dissimilarities between this fact pattern and actual Texas history are unintentional–please indulge your Yankee professor.

—

In 1836, Austin led the Texians in their triumphant victory in the Texas Revolution. During his conquests, Austin claimed ownership of two plots of land in what was now the Republic of Texas: Gonzales and Alamo. Nearing the end of his life, Austin set out to ensure that his friends and family were taken care of after his death. At the time, Austin was not married, and had three children: Bowie, Crocket, and Dusk. Austin also had several close friends: Eustache, Fannin, and Gamar.

On January 1, 1837, Austin recorded the first of two conveyances: “I convey Gonzales to Bowie for life, then to Eustache and his heirs so long as the cannon used during the Battle of Gonzales remains in Gonzales.”

On January 2, 1837, Bowie took his own life and fell on his (bowie) knife.

On February 1, 1837, Austin recorded the second conveyance: “I convey Alamo to Crockett and Dusk jointly, but if the Alamo fort is not maintained, then to Fannin and his heirs.

On February 2, 1837, Crockett locks the Alamo fort, and prevents Dusk from entering.

On February 14, 1837, Crockett became too busy hunting raccoons for his new coonskin cap, and forgot about the Alamo. It quickly fell into disrepair.

On May 1, 1837, tragically, Crockett was attacked by a rabid racoon, and dies.

On May 14, 1837, afraid of his own mortality after Crockett’s sudden demise, Dusk recorded the following conveyance: “Alamo to myself for my life, then to Gamar and his heirs.”

On May 15, 1837 at Crockett’s funeral, Fannin learns that the Alamo is in disrepair, and tells Dusk that he is moving in.

On May 16, 1837, Dusk dies during a tragic mutton-bustin’ accident, that would later become known as the silence of the lambs.

On May 30, 1837 Fannin enters Alamo and demands access. Gamar, who had moved in after Dusk kicked the bucket, won’t let him in.

On December 31, 1837, Austin died, leaving no heirs.

On January 2, 1838, General Hanta Anna, still peeved over losing the war, entered Gonzales and claimed that Austin never properly acquired Gonzales, and that the land belongs to him. Hanta Anna claimed that in 1824 the Native Americans in Gonzales conveyed the land to him. Eustache, with a classic Texian bravado and swagger, kicks out Hanta Anna.

On February 1, 1838, Hanta Anna, taking Gonzales’ “Come and Take It” flag a little too seriously, came and took it. He seized the canon and brought it South of the Border. By messing with Texas, he nearly ignited another Revolution.

—

With these facts, address the following questions in your memorandum to the Chief Justice.

(1) With respect to Gonzales, describe the interests held by Austin, Bowie, Eustache, and Hanta Anna at the following dates (If a person has not yet acquired any interest at a certain date, no need to discuss it):

(a) 1/1/37

(b) 1/2/37

(c) 1/2/38

(d) 2/1/38

(2) With respect to Alamo, describe the interests held by Austin, Crocket, Dusk, Fanin, and Gamar at the following dates (If a person has not yet acquired any interest at a certain date, no need to discuss it):

(a) 2/1/37

(b) 2/2/37

(c) 2/14/37

(d) 5/1/37

(e) 5/16/37

(f) 5/30/37

Instructions: You are an associate at a law firm. Your lazy partner, who is quite short on time, asks you to prepare a memorandum of no more than 500 words addressing a situation affecting a client. You are in a jurisdiction that, for the most part, adopts the rules of the Restatement (First) of Property, but is gradually moving towards the Restatement (Third) of Property. The jurisdiction has a “Notice” recording statute. The period required for adverse possession is ten years with color of title, and twenty years without color of title .

Here are all the facts. If you draw any inferences beyond these facts, please explain why you drew those inferences.

On January 1, 2011, your client Aladdin purchased Blackacre from Oliver with a general warranty deed for $100,000. Oliver told Aladdin that he owned the land in fee simple, and that there were no encumbrances on the title.

Aladdin, who was otherwise involved in a bitter dispute with his girlfriend Jasmine (she acted like such a Princess!), delayed recording until January 1, 2012.

Unbeknownst to Aladdin, Oliver also sold Blackacre to Bambi for $50,000 on June 1, 2011. Oliver gave Bambi a quit-claim deed, though Oliver never signed it. Bambi recorded the same day, on June 1, 2011. However, the clerk who recorded the deed accidentally wrote “Greyacre” instead of “Blackacre.” Bambi knew nothing about the sale of Blackacre to Aladdin.

Bambi did not enter the property right away, as she was grieving the tragic death of her mother.

On January 2, 2012, Aladdin finally enters Blackacre, and decides to open the forest, which is extremely over-populated with deer, to hunters for a fee. Within 24 hours, Aladdin sells out hunting passes for the year for $20,000.

Gaston, a renowned hunter, enters the land, fires his gun, and kills a deer.

Captain Hook, who owns Whiteacre, which is adjacent to Blackacre, is startled by the gunshot, and comes running over and yells at Aladdin, telling him hunting is not allowed on the land. The Captain is very sensitive to sound.

The Captain says, “Look around at every other plot of land in the area. There is no hunting allowed anywhere in the county!” Aladdin said he didn’t even notice.

Aladdin told the Captain that his land was so over-populated by deer, who were eating all of his crops, that he needed to do something to reduce the number of deer. Aladdin said “this was the only way I could save my land!”

The Captain tells Aladdin that when he sold Blackacre to Donald Duck thirty years ago, the Captain added an easement on the deed, stating that hunting would not be allowed on Blackacre.

Aladdin tells the Captain that he “purchased Blackacre in fee simple from Oliver, not Donald Duck.” Aladdin had no clue who Donald Duck was. The Captain looks confused, and said that he had seen Oliver on the land occasionally over the last 5 years, and before that Eeyore had lived on the land continuously for six years. Oliver claimed he acquired a deed from Eeyore, but it was never recorded. Eeyore obtained a deed to the land from a sheriff’s sale. Eeyore never recorded his deed. However, years later–after Oliver acquired title from Eeyore and entered the land–a court determined that the the sheriff’s sale was based on an invalid foreclosure. Oliver had no notice that the foreclosure sale was invalid. The Captain said he did not mind that Eeyore and Oliver were on the land, as they were quiet. However, the Captain said that Donald Duck was the lawful owner. Aladdin said he had never even heard of Donald Duck.

Shortly thereafter, Bambi, still traumatized from the death of her mother, enters Blackacre, and discovers to her absolute shock and horror, that Aladdin is allowing deer-hunters onto the land.

The Captain filed suit to enjoin hunting on Blackacre, and claimed that the noise from the gunshots constitute a nuisance, seeking $5,000 in damages. Bambi filed an action to quiet title, and to oust Aladdin from Blackacre.

What are Aladdin’s best defenses against the suits brought by Captain Hook and Bambi? What actions may exist against Oliver? What should Aladdin do (and no, Genie can’t help)?

The lecture notes are here. The live chat is here.

This is Lord Edward Coke, the Chief Justice of England. He is most famous for prosecuting Sir Walter Raleigh (whose inability to confront witnesses was the origin of our confrontation clause) and the Gunpowder Plot (remember, remember the 5th of November, or V for Vendetta). Coke is most famous for deciding Lord Bonham’s case, the case most famously cited for the proposition that a court could find a law unconstitutional. The King was subject to the laws, and the laws of Parliament were void if in violation of “common right and reason.” It was not John Marshall who created the concept of judicial review. However, after this case, he was transferred to the King’s Bench, where he had less power. He also famously wrote the Institutes of the Lawes of England.

And, for those interested, the South Texas College of Law Library has a 1607 English Dictionary. None other than Lord Coke ordered it censored for its seditious definition of the word liberty. Indeed Coke ordered the book to be burned!

The Texas Statute of Frauds provides:

Sec. 26.01.  PROMISE OR AGREEMENT MUST BE IN WRITING. (a) A promise or agreement described in Subsection (b) of this section is not enforceable unless the promise or agreement, or a memorandum of it, is

(1)  in writing; and

(2)  signed by the person to be charged with the promise or agreement or by someone lawfully authorized to sign for him.

(b)  Subsection (a) of this section applies to:

(1)  a promise by an executor or administrator to answer out of his own estate for any debt or damage due from his testator or intestate;

(2)  a promise by one person to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another person;

(3)  an agreement made on consideration of marriage or on consideration of nonmarital conjugal cohabitation;

(4)  a contract for the sale of real estate;

(5)  a lease of real estate for a term longer than one year;

(6)  an agreement which is not to be performed within one year from the date of making the agreement;

(7)  a promise or agreement to pay a commission for the sale or purchase of:

(A)  an oil or gas mining lease;

(B)  an oil or gas royalty;

(C)  minerals;  or

(D)  a mineral interest;  and

(8)  an agreement, promise, contract, or warranty of cure relating to medical care or results thereof made by a physician or health care provider as defined in Section 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.  This section shall not apply to pharmacists.

I have an album of photos of the house from Shelley v. Kraemer here:

Here is the text of the 14th Amendment:

No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The 13th Amendment is the only Amendment to apply directly to individuals, and not the government:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

The lecture notes are here. The live chat is here.

Today we will conclude our study of zoning with a discussion about Houston’s lack of a zoning code, and what it means. Here are the readings for today:

• Changing the plans America’s oil capital is throwing up a few environmental surprises
• Zoning Without Zoning
• Houston, New York Has A Problem (bonus for finding the reference to where I went to high school)
• Land Use in the Unzoned City
• How Overregulation Creates Sprawl (Even in a City without Zoning) – pp. 1-15
• Four Land Vignettes From (Unzoned?) Houston – pp. 1-9, 25-28

View Larger Map

There was massive opposition to the site, which will be completed in Spring 2014 at Bissonnet and Ashby, north of Rice University.

Also, here is a graph that illustrates how eminent domain takings focus on areas of minorities and those with low education. It will be relevant to our discussion on zoning.

Here is a February 2013 Houston Chronicle article on mobility in Houston, based on a Texas A&M report:

• $1,090: Cost to each commuter in Houston, due to congestion, in lost time and fuel.
• 23: Gallons of fuel wasted in 2011, per motorist, in the Houston area because of congestion.
• 5.75: Hours daily that Houston is a “rush hour” commute pattern.
• 6: Houston’s rank for having the nation’s most stressful commute.
• 81.9 million: Number of unlinked public transportation trips, a 20 percent decrease from 2006.

Washington D.C. is ranked with the worst traffic in America,followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.

I dreamed a dream of bread gone by,

When carbs were high,

And food worth eating.

I dreamed that bread would never die,

I dreamed that God would help with baking.

Then I was full and satisfied,

And bread was made and used and wasted.

There was no chometz to be sold,

No bread unbaked,

No food untasted.

But the angel came at night,

With the blood as red as crimson.

Then the rabbis sold my Chometz away

And they replaced my bread–with– crrr—aaaa-ccc–kkeers

…

Now Pesach has killed,

The bread I dreamed.

I remind myself, it’s only one day more, another day another Matzah brie. As proof that matzah is not fit for consumption, I dropped a piece matzah with lox and cream cheese on it. My dog managed to slurp up the fish, but ignored the matzah, and didn’t bother going after the crumbs. Now back to munching on my matzah and cheese sandwich.