Legal Exam 2

property

legal right to exclude others from resources you originally possess or acquired without force, theft, or fraud

exclude

you can have police or courts keep someone from interfering with what’s yours

resources

anything that someone may want or need (ex. land, physical things, the use of those things)

originally possess

what comes from you, like your work or expressions

mortgage

1. transfer of an interest in property for the purpose of creating a security for a debt

2. type of securite interest in land, usually securing an extension of credit

real property

property in land and interests in land

personal property

all other property, movable resources

tangible personal property

physical property (ex. computers, car, carrots)

intangible personal property

something that represents value but isn’t physical, such as a copyright, patent, or franchise right

fixture

object of personal property that has become part of real property by 1.) attachment to the land or its buildings or 2.) because its use has become closely associated with the use of the land

estate

bundle of rights and powers of real property ownership

fee simple

the maximum bundle of rights, or estate, permitted by law

life estate

property that grants land ownership for the lifetime of a specified person

leasehold estate

the property granted to tenants (lessees) by a landlord (lessor)

joint tenancy

property ownership that is undivided (common) and equal between two or more owners. permits survivorship.

tenancy in common

property ownership that is undivided (common) but not necessarily equal between two or more owners

undivided (in property ownership)

the concurrent owners don’t own specific pieces of the resource

right of survivorship

if one of the join tenants dies, the remaining tenant becomes the sole owner of the entire resource

partition

owners in a joint tenancy or tenancy in common can separate ownership with partition

easement

right of someone other than the owner of land to some use of that land

natural easement (aka easement by necessity)

in common law, owners of land had this to get from their land to the nearest public road

negative easement

adjoining landowner cannot do anything that would cause your land to cave in or collapse

easement by prescription

one person has used another’s land continuously for many years (usually 20), so the owner cannot prevent them from continuing to use it (ex. crossing over someone’s land for 20 years)

bailment

owner intentionally places an object into another person’s possession with the understanding that the other person will return it later (ex. storing things at warehouse, rent furniture from the rental store)

bailor

person who transfers their tangible, personal property

bailee

person who takes possession of the other person’s object and must return it or dispose of it

potential liability of mutually beneficial bailments

bailee is under duty to use “reasonable care” (not liable for acts of god)

potential liability in bailment for the sole benefit of the bailor

bailee owes only a slight duty of care

potential liability in bailment for the sole benefit of the bailee

bailee owes very high duty of care, greater than what’s “reasonable” (ex. bailee borrowing object)

bailor duties

in mutually beneficial, must pay for storage, bailor must also guarantee she has no knowledge of defects

contract

legally enforceable promise

rule of first possession

says that someone becomes an owner of a previously unowned thing if they’re the first to possess it

how can lost items acquire a new owner

possession and following legal procedure (ex. turning item over to police and advertising in local paper so the owner can be found), at the end of the statutory period the finder becomes the new owner

how mislaid items acquire a new owner

they go to the person who owns the premises where the item was mislaid (ex. $100 bill on shop table goes to shop owner)

adverse possession

property ownership acquired through open, notorious, actual, exclusive, continuous, and wrongful possession of land for a statutorily prescribed period of time

open and notorious (in adverse possession)

must occupy the land in a way to put the real owner on notice

actual and exclusive (in adverse possession)

possessor must physically occupy the land or build a fence or building on it

continuous (in adverse possession)

possession must not be interrupted

wrongful (in adverse possession)

the possessor must not have owner’s permission to be on the land

for a prescribed period of time (in adverse possession)

most states specify between 10 and 20 years before the possessor becomes the new owner

confusion

property ownership that arises when identical masses of objects are mixed together (ex. grain)

accession

property acquired by adding something to an owned object

gift

transfer of ownership by intent and the delivery of the object gifted

title

word for ownership, sometimes represented by a document

deed

document representing the title or ownership of land

security interests

gives someone interest in what belongs to you, until you fulfill a condition (ex. mortgages, secured transactions)

deeds of trust

type of document to secure an extension of credit through an interest in the land

land sales contract

type of document to secure an extension of credit through an interest in the land purchased (buyer pays in installments and owns land when all the installments are paid)

mortgagees

creditor in a mortgage agreement

mortgagor

owner of land who places a mortgage on it (debtors)

foreclosure

court will order than land is sold to satisfy debt owed, usually by auction to the highest bidder

deficiency

in land-based security interest, the amount of the loan which remains unpaid after the land has been sold

right of redemption

before foreclosure, mortgagor can get the land back upon full payment of debt, including all interest and costs

secured transactions

an interest in personal property that secures the payment of an obligation

collateral

the valuable thing put up by someone to secure a loan or credit

attachment

takes place when

1. a secured party has given value

2. the debtor owns the collateral, and

3. a security agreement is given

perfection

status given to security interests after certain events have occurred or certain prescribed steps have been taken, for example, the filing of a financing statement

financing statement

form that the secured party files with a public officer listing the info of the collateral

purchase money security interest (PMSI)

if you help someone buy something, you get first rights to it until they pay you back

buyer in the ordinary course of business

buys from someone who ordinarily sells goods in their business

artisan’s lien

if you improve or repair someone’s property, you can keep it until you’re paid for your work or sell it if they don’t pay you