Law Commons^™

Property Rights And Liability Rules: The Ex Ante View Of The Cathedral, Lucian Arye Bebchuk

Michigan Law Review

This Article aims to contribute to the study of how the law should allocate and protect entitlements in the presence of externalities. In their classic article published thirty years ago, Calabresi and Melamed studied such questions and offered what they labeled "one view of the Cathedral." I seek to add to the inquiry started by Calabresi and Melamed by offering an ex ante perspective and analyzing how allocations of entitlements affect parties' ex ante actions and investments. Suppose that an upstream Factory would benefit from an activity that would pollute a river and harm an activity conducted by a downstream …

The Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act: An Analysis Under The Commerce Clause, Evan M. Shapior

Washington Law Review

Congress based the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) on accumulated evidence suggesting that the land use decisions of local governments unfairly burden religious uses. The RLUIPA is narrower in scope than two previous statutes aimed at protecting religious liberty. The United States Supreme Court held the first of these religious liberty statutes unconstitutional, and Congress failed to enact the other. This Comment examines the constitutionality of the RLUIPA under the Commerce Clause and argues that Congress exceeded its Commerce Clause authority because (1) land use regulation does not constitute "economic activity" as defined by the United States …

Optimal Delegation And Decoupling In The Design Of Liability Rules, Ian M. Ayres, Paul M. Goldbart

Michigan Law Review

Calabresi and Melamed began a scholarly revolution by showing that legal entitlements have two readily distinguishable forms of protection: property rules and liability rules. These two archetypal forms protect an entitlement holder's interest in markedly different ways - via deterrence or compensation. Property rules protect entitlements by trying to deter others from taking. Liability rules, on the other hand, protect entitlements not by deterring but by trying to compensate the victim of nonconsensual takings. Accordingly, the compensatory impetus behind liability rules focuses on the takee's welfare - making sure the sanction is sufficient to compensate the takee. The deterrent impetus …

The Likely Impact Of The Ali Principles Of The Law Of Family Dissolution On Property Division, Craig W. Dallon

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Just And Unjust Compensation: The Future Of The Navigational Servitude In Condemnation Cases, Alan T. Ackerman, Noah Eliezer Yanich

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Rands, expanded the navigational servitude doctrine governing the federal government's power over land adjoining a navigable waterway by severely qualifying the government's Fifth Amendment obligation to compensate the landowner. This Article addresses the issue in the following ways: Part I surveys Congress' power to regulate navigable waters under the Commerce Clause. Part II summarizes the development of the navigational servitude doctrine and some of its inhibitory effects on waterfront development, especially under Rands. It explains the fundamental unfairness of the Rands principle and demonstrates why this constitutional rule …

Retelling Allotment: Indian Property Rights And The Myth Of Common Ownership, Kenneth H. Bobroff

Vanderbilt Law Review

The division of Native American reservations into individually owned parcels was an unquestionable disaster. Authorized by the General Allotment Act of 1887, allotment cost Indians two-thirds of their land and left much of the remainder effectively useless as it passed to successive generations of owners. The conventional understanding, shared by scholars, judges, policymakers, and activists alike, has been that allotment failed because it imposed individual ownership on people who had never known private property. Before allotment, so this story goes, Indians had always owned their land in common. Because Indians had no conception of private property, they were unable to …

Understanding Sprawl: Lessons From Architecture For Legal Scholars, Mark S. Davies

Michigan Law Review

What is suburban "sprawl"? Why is it undesirable? Why do many Americans nevertheless choose to live in sprawl? Do local zoning laws contribute to sprawl? Can democratic institutions discourage it? Legal scholars are beginning to study these urgent and complex questions. This Essay reviews Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck, leading architects of the influential New Urbanism or traditional town planning movement. This review makes five points about the legal study of sprawl. First, Suburban Nation provides a definition of "sprawl" that the law can …

On Castles And Commerce: Zoning Law And The Home-Business Dilemma, Nicole Stelle Garnett

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

So You Want To Ban Mountaintop Mining--You May Have To Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, Stephanie René Timmermeyer

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unopened Public Street Easements In Washington: Whose Right To Use That Land Is It, Anyway?, Alfred E. Donohue

Washington Law Review

This Comment argues that landowners whose property abuts unopened public street easements have a right to reasonable, non-interfering use of such easements until the city or county opens the street for its intended purpose. Unopened public street easements are dedicated streets that a city or county has not developed or used. Often, landowners use this land to store firewood, park boats, or garden. In 1995, the City of Seattle enacted Municipal Code section 15.02.100, which prohibits all use of unopened public street easements. Several Washington court decisions purportedly support the Seattle ordinance. These decisions suggest that abutting property owners have …

Enforcing The Endangered Species Act Against The States, Jean O. Melious

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Recapture Of Public Value On The Termination Of The Use Of Commercial Land Under Takings Jurisprudence And Economic Analysis, Donald C. Guy, James E. Holloway

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

The Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act Of 2000 (Rluipa): A Valid Exercise Of Congressional Power?, Shawn Jensvold

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Land Use Planning Over The Last Forty Years: Fighting Sprawl Through Smart Growth Planning, Richard J. Ansson Jr.

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Rejection Versus Termination: A Sublessee's Rights In A Lease Rejected In A Bankruptcy Proceeding Under 11 U.S.C. § 365(D)(4), Vivek Sankaran

Michigan Law Review

When a party files for bankruptcy under chapter 11 of the United States Code, the court typically appoints a trustee to handle all of the party's financial obligations. The trustee's responsibilities include investigating the financial condition of the debtor, the operation of the business, the desirability of continuing the business, and any other matter relevant to the disposition of the bankrupt estate. If a bankrupt party holds a commercial lease, the trustee possesses two options for dealing with the lease. One option is to reject the lease, which ends the bankrupt party's obligation to adhere to the provisions of the …

Palestinian Private Property Rights In Israel And The Occupied Territories, Stacy Howlett

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

As the birth pangs of an emerging Palestinian state rage on, one question bars settlement, reconciliation, and peace: who is entitled to the land? On a macrocosmic level, this question has and will be answered through diplomatic negotiations, political pressure, and violence. The microcosmic question of the disposition of private property, however, must be taken into consideration before any lasting peace agreement can be reached.

The rights and interests of Palestinian refugees and Israeli settlers with respect to the land they have an interest in must be balanced with national needs for territorial continuity and peace. By tracing the transfer …

Department Of Real Estate, Lisa J. Frisello, Rusty Nichols

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Risk Management For Land Use Regulations: A Proposed Model , Kenneth G. Silliman

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article constructs a conservative legal framework to guide planners in conventional planning activities. It further proposes that planners should apply the model to these conventional activities, but work closely with the municipal attorney before adopting more innovative and controversial planning devices.This Article proceeds in four major sections. Section I commences, with historical reviews: major changes in land use planning within the last 50 years, the land development problems associated with those changes, and judicial responses to these same problems. Comparisons are frequently made between cases from a rustbelt Midwestern state (Ohio) and cases from a faster growing sunbelt state …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preserving Transportation Corridors For The Future: Another Look At Railroad Deeds In Washington State, Gregg H. Hirakawa

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment will analyze the recent approach the Washington court has incorporated in settling trail development disputes across the State. In particular, the Comment will examine the court's use of common law deed interpretation principles in upholding property rights while preserving valuable public transportation corridors. Furthermore, the Comment will show how the Washington court's recent approach in interpreting railroad deeds has made recreational trail construction more appropriately a legislative matter, rather than a legal one. Section I of the Comment will begin with an historical overview of railroads in the United States, background on the public "Rails-to-Trails" movement, and an …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Property Law, Michael V. Hernandez

University of Richmond Law Review

This article surveys judicial and legislative developments in Virginia property law from June 1, 2000, to June 1, 2001.

"A Less Proportion Of Idle Proprietors": Madison, Property Rights, And The Abolition Of Fee Tail, John F. Hart

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.