Law Commons^™

The Consumer Bundle, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy

Washington Law Review

Can property law have a consumer protection purpose? One of the most important consumer law concerns today is the limited control consumers have over the digital assets and software-embedded products they purchase. Current proposals for reform focus on classifying the transaction as either license or sale and rely mostly on contract law and consumer protection regulation with a few calls for restoring ownership rights. This Article argues that property law can protect consumers by establishing a minimum bundle of rights for consumers: the “consumer’s bundle.” Working with property theory and an analysis of property values, this Article explains the importance …

The Afterlife Of Confederate Monuments, Jess Phelps, Jessica N. Owley

Indiana Law Journal

As communities increasingly remove Confederate monuments from public spaces, they must decide what to do with these troubled statues. Given the recent wave of monument removal, we consider how property law and other restrictions impact community decisions on the disposition of monuments removed from public spaces on two levels—by location and future owner. In considering the fate of removed monuments, we profile potential destinations including museums, battlefields, cemeteries, and even storage. Alongside these examples, we discuss how laws constrain (or fail to constrain) the options for new owners and the restrictions on where monuments can be relocated. Even where laws …

The Color(Blind) Conundrum In Colorado Property Law, Tom I. Romero Ii

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Meaningless Dna: Moore’S Inadequate Protection Of Genetic Material, Natalie Alexander

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Moore v. Regents of the University of California represents the seminal case regarding the protection of genetic material. In this case, the California Supreme Court held that patients do not retain property rights in their excised genetic material; instead, informed consent laws serve as genetic material’s only protection. Many states have accepted the Moore court’s decision not to extend property rights to genetic material, and most states choose to protect genetic material through informed consent alone. Moore and informed consent do not adequately protect genetic material, creating unjust results in which “donors” of genetic material have little to no recourse …

The Law Of Employee Data: Privacy, Property, Governance, Matthew T. Bodie

Indiana Law Journal

The availability of data related to the employment relationship has ballooned into an unruly mass of performance metrics, personal characteristics, biometric recordings, and creative output. The law governing this collection of information has been awkwardly split between privacy regulations and intellectual property rights, with employees generally losing on both ends. This Article rejects a binary approach that either carves out private spaces ineffectually or renders data into isolated pieces of ownership. Instead, the law should implement a hybrid system that provides workers with continuing input and control without blocking efforts at joint production. In addition, employers should have fiduciary responsibilities …

Do We Own What We Post?: The Fundamental Property Right To Destroy Your Presence On The Internet, Olivia Shangrow

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will explore the well-established right to destroy your own property and how such a fundamental right can and should be applied to our online property to develop more protective data privacy legislation. Part I highlights the longstanding pillar of property law establishing a right to destroy one’s property, and how that can and should be applied to your digital identity. Part II will discuss the ambiguity of personal data ownership online and the ill effects resulting from the lack of control of our personal information on the Internet. Part III examines the current state of data privacy legislation …

Waste And The Governance Of Private And Public Property, Tara K. Righetti, Joseph A. Schremmer

University of Colorado Law Review

Common law waste doctrine is often overlooked as antiquated and irrelevant. At best, waste doctrine is occasionally examined as a lens through which to evaluate evolutions in modern property theory. We argue here that waste doctrine is more than just a historical artifact. Rather, the principle embedded in waste doctrine underpins a great deal of property law generally, both common law and statutory, as well as the law governing oil and gas, water, and public trust resources. Seen for what it is, waste doctrine provides a fresh perspective on property, natural resources, and environmental law.

In this Article, we excavate …

Child Entertainers And Their Limited Protections: A Call For An Interstate Compact, Tabetha Bennett

Child and Family Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Access For The Future: Improving Maine's Implementation Of The Public Trust Doctrine Through Municipal Controls To Ensure Coastal Access For Continuing Benefit To Maine's People And Economy, Allison M. Kuhns

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

The public trust doctrine generally guarantees the public access to the shoreline, which is held in trust for the public by the state. In Maine, a pre-Revolutionary War ordinance limits the public trust doctrine by granting private landowners rights to the same shoreline areas. Access to the shoreline area is subject to frequent legal battles and court decisions have not cured the conflict between the public's rights and the private landowners' rights. Maine's economy relies heavily on public access to the shoreline. This comment suggests that the public's rights should be protected. First, the public trust doctrine does not violate …

Blockchain Wills, Bridget J. Crawford

Indiana Law Journal

Blockchain technology has the potential to radically alter the way that people have

executed wills for centuries. This Article makes two principal claims—one

descriptive and the other normative. Descriptively, this Article suggests that

traditional wills formalities have been relaxed to the point that they no longer serve

the cautionary, protective, evidentiary, and channeling functions that scholars have

used to justify strict compliance with wills formalities. Widespread use of digital

technology in everyday communications has led to several notable cases in which

individuals have attempted to execute wills electronically. These wills have had a

mixed reception. Four states currently recognize electronic …

The Co-Tenancy Act And The Modernization Of West Virginia’S Oil And Gas Law, Jack Budig

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Idea Of Property: A Comparative Review Of Recent Empirical Research Methods, Paul T. Babie, Peter D. Burdon Mr, Francesca Da Rimini, Cherie M. Metcalf Prof., Geir Stenseth

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

While theory offers important insights into property's normative content, it sometimes fails to tell us about what people understand property to mean and how they interact with those things said to be owned by them. This has significant implications for some of the challenges facing humanity, including climate change, unequal distributions of wealth and resources, biodiversity loss, and innovation. In response, a growing body of literature is emerging that looks at property through a different lens; rather than theorizing property in an abstract way or attempting to craft a normative account of and justification for the institution, this new scholarship …

Money That Costs Too Much: Regulating Financial Incentives, Kristen Underhill

Indiana Law Journal

Money may not corrupt. But should we worry if it corrodes? Legal scholars in a range of fields have expressed concern about “motivational crowding-out,” a process by which offering financial rewards for good behavior may undermine laudable social motivations, like professionalism or civic duty. Disquiet about the motivational impacts of incentives has now extended to health law, employment law, tax, torts, contracts, criminal law, property, and beyond. In some cases, the fear of crowding-out has inspired concrete opposition to innovative policies that marshal incentives to change individual behavior. But to date, our fears about crowding-out have been unfocused and amorphous; …

Liability For Unintentional Nuisances: How The Restatement Of Torts Almost Negligently Killed The Right To Exclude In Property Law, Jill M. Fraley

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Complicated Landscape Of Civil War Monuments, Jessica Owley, Jess Phelps

Indiana Law Journal

This essay examines the controversy regarding confederate monuments and attempts to contextualize this debate within the current preservation framework. While much attention has been paid to this topic over the past year, particularly with regard to “public” monuments, such discussion has generally failed to recognize the varied and complicated property law layers involved—which can fundamentally change the legal requirements for modification or removal. We propose a spectrum or framework for assessing these resources ranging from public to private, and we explore the messy space in-between these poles where most monuments actually fall. By highlighting these categories, we provide an initial …

Licenses And The Property/Contract Interface, Christina M. Mulligan

Indiana Law Journal

INTRODUCTION

I. THE ROLE OF FORMAL CATEGORIES

II. THE COMPOUND-PAUCITAL LICENSE

A. IDIOSYNCRASY AND INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES

B. REGULATING LICENSES

1. THE NOTICE STRATEGY

2. THE PROTECTION STRATEGY

III. RESTRAINTS ON ALIENATION AND USE

A. HARMS CAUSED BY RESTRAINTS ON ALIENATION AND USE

1. INCREASED INFORMATION COSTS

2.WASTE

B. LIMITING HARM WITH PROTECTIVE STANDARDIZATION

1. THE LICENSE V. SALE DISTINCTION IN PRACTICE

2.WHAT IS A DIGITAL SALE?

3. FAVORING SALES WITHOUT LOSING FLEXIBILITY

C. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN IN REM AND IN PERSONAM LICENSE TERMS

IV. LICENSE REVOCATION

A. TIMING REVOCATION

B. BENEFITS AND CONCERNS

1.MANAGING SHARED RESOURCES VS. UPSET RELIANCE INTERESTS

2. …

United States V. Gila Valley Irrigation District, Ryan L. Hickey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Attempts to alter water use agreements, especially those spanning back decades or even centuries, elicit intense scrutiny from water rights holders. In United States v. Gila Valley Irrigation Dist., the Ninth Circuit upheld application of a 1935 Decree apportioning water among various regional entities, including two Indian tribes, to bar a mineral company from transferring water rights between properties within the Gila River drainage.

Realigning The Governmental/Proprietary Distinction In Municipal Law, Hugh D. Spitzer

Seattle University Law Review

Lawyers and judges who deal with municipal law are perpetually puzzled by the distinction between “governmental” and “proprietary” powers of local governments. The distinction is murky, inconsistent between jurisdictions, inconsistent within jurisdictions, and of limited use in predicting how courts will rule. Critics have launched convincing attacks on the division of municipal powers into these two categories. Most articles have focused on problems with the distinction in specific areas of municipal law. In contrast, this article provides a comprehensive analysis of the governmental/proprietary distinction in seven specific doctrinal areas: legislative grants of municipal authority, government contracts, torts, eminent domain, adverse …

Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings: Where We Have Been And Where We Need To Go, Bryan E. Meek

Akron Law Review

The primary purpose for this comment is to provide an overview of the foreclosure process while introducing the laws and regulations that would govern an “ideal” foreclosure system. First, it provides a general introduction to the mortgage/foreclosure process. This introduction is crucial; it will help many to understand the way financial institutions have complicated the foreclosure process. Next, it analyzes various states, labeling them as either having “strict” foreclosure laws and regulations or having “lenient” foreclosure laws and regulations. Lastly, this comment discusses the pros and cons of various foreclosure requirements. The ultimate goal of this comment is to establish …

City Of Norwood V. Horney - Much More Than Eminent Domain: A Forceful Affirmation Of The Independent Authority Of The Ohio Constitution And The Court's Power To Enforce It, Kathleen M. Trafford

Akron Law Review

individual’s protection under Ohio’s eminent domain law but also refines the judiciary’s approach to Ohio constitutional analysis. Part I will set forth the pre-Norwood standard of review in Ohio eminent domain law, which took an increasingly expansive approach to determining what constitutes public use out of deference to the legislature. It will outline the standard of review for eminent domain cases at the federal level following the United States Supreme Court’s holding in Kelo, which upheld the taking of private property for purely economic reasons. Finally, Part I discusses the facts and holding of Norwood, which struck down the taking …

Repulsed By Rap? Renewal Options Are Singing A Different Tune: An Analysis Of Bleecker Street Tenants Corp. V. Bleeker Jones, Llc, Jonathan M. Vecchi

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Constitutional Listening To Constitutional Learning, Leigh Jenco

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In this article, I point out some limitations of Michael Dowdle's "listening" model, particularly its basis in the "principle of charity." I try to show that listening, as well as the principle of charity, are inadvertently passive and one-sided exercises that seem to have little similarity to the deeply self-transformative "learning" Dowdle urges us to undertake. I go on to suggest other ways of accomplishing the goals Dowdle sets for this project. Specifically, I develop the "self-reflexive approach" to think about how we might change ourselves—our conversations, our terms, our concerns—in addition to, and in the process of, learning from …

From Constitutional Listening To Moral Listening, Roy Tseng

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In order to provide comments on Michael Dowdle's account of "Constitutional Listening," this paper aims to establish three counter-arguments. First of all, in contrast to Dowdle's particularly narrow understanding of liberalism, I argue that to evaluate the moral import of liberalism properly, we need to draw attention to the diversities of liberalism. According to what I will call "historicist liberalism," for example, in understanding other cultures we should try to show sensitivities toward alien political systems and moral values. Second of all, although I appreciate Dowdle's effort to avoid the misinterpretation of non-Western constitutional discourse, I do not agree with …

Constitutional Listening, Michael W. Dowdle

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This article explores a particular methodology of comparative constitutional analysis that it calls "constitutional listening." Derived from the interpretive "principle of charity," constitutional listening involves interpreting constitutional discourse of other polities in their best light. This includes not simply polities whose constitutional structures and values resemble our own, but perhaps even more importantly, polities and constitutional systems whose values and structures seem alien to us. The value of this methodology, it is argued, lies in its ability to expand our understanding of the diversity of experiences that have gone into the human project of constitutionalism, and in the diversity of …

Legal Framework For Soviet Privatization, Olga Floroff, Susan Tiefenbrun

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Carbon Down Under - Lessons From Australia: Two Recommendations For Clarifying Subsurface Property Rights To Facilitate Onshore Geologic Carbon Sequestration In The United States, Tracy J. Logan

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment’s analysis requires a few necessary assumptions. First, the feasibility of large-scale deployment of geologic CCS technology for the purposes of permanently storing CO2 is assumed. Second, the establishment of a regulatory framework with incentives to mitigate or offset GHGs is assumed. Third, the carbon-capture technology retrofitting of point-source emitters is assumed. And finally, the existence of infrastructure to transport supercritical CO2 to a storage site is assumed. This Comment contains five parts: Part I provides an introduction and overview to contextualize the need for CCS; Part II details the technology of GS; Part III is an overview of …

Property 101: Is Property A Thing Or A Bundle?, Eric R. Claeys

Seattle University Law Review

This Review Essay has two aims. My more immediate aim is to assess where Merrill and Smith's contribution fits in the market for first-year Property casebooks. In short, Property: Principles and Policies represents an important advance in property pedagogy. By focusing thematically on exclusion's efficiency, Merrill and Smith have captured many important features of property overlooked by other casebooks. My longer-range aim is to advance the reclamation project Merrill and Smith have begun, by clarifying further the work that exclusivity does in property law. Property: Principles and Policies brings contemporary scholarship a long way toward appreciating the virtues of exclusivity, …

Teaching International Intellectual Property Law, Peter K. Yu

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Property Law, Robin Jean Davis, Louis J. Palmer Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Property Law Serves Human Society: A First-Year Course Agenda, Peter W. Salsich

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.