Law Commons^™

California's Foreclosure Statutes: Some Proposals For Reform, Cynthia Mertens

Faculty Publications

Spurred by the harsh economics of the Great Depression, California enacted several statutes designed to protect pledgors of real property from unfair and often ruinous deficiency judgments. This legislation includes Code of Civil Procedure sections 580a,the fair value section, 580b,the purchase-money anti-deficiency statute, 580d; the nonjudicial foreclosure anti-deficiency statute, and 726, the "one-action" rule. Three decades of judicial interpretation, however, have created a body of case law which fails to advance the legislative purposes upon which the courts purportedly base their decisions.

The time has come for California to substantially revise its Depression-era anti-deficiency legislation in order to express and …

Allocating Consumptive Water Rights In A Riparian Jurisdiction: Defining The Relationship Between Public And Private Interests, Lynda L. Butler

Faculty Publications

Historically, water consumption in the eastern United States has been governed by the common-law riparian doctrine. Fashioned to protect the domestic uses of private individuals in a largely agrarian society, the doctrine is not well suited to today's environment in which the demands of public users have grown enormously. Even in the East, where water has long been abundant, the effects of increased consumption, pollution, and periodic drought have brought the continued viability of the doctrine into question. Professor Butler examines the legal standards which have developed under the riparian doctrine and identifies three principal areas in which the doctrine …

The Economic And Cultural Impact Of The Origins Of Property: 1180-1220, Robert C. Palmer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Origins Of Property In England, Robert C. Palmer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Installment Land Contracts--The National Scene Revisited, Dale A. Whitman, Grant S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

In 1977 we published an article in this Review that discussed the legal aspects of the installment land contract. The installment contract was then, and continues to be, widely used as a device for seller financing of real estate. In our judgment, and increasingly in the judgment of the courts, that is a mistake. Few situations, if any, would lead an informed lawyer to advise his client to use an installment contract rather than its financing cousin, the note secured by a mortgage or deed of trust. Since the prior article was published, the courts have continued to place impediments …

Preface: Missouri Law Review--1913-1936-1986, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

The half-century from 1936 to 1986 has seen astonishing growth in the law and in legal education. Among countless illustrations are the enormous expansion of the law of products liability, the promulgation and adoption of numerous Model and Uniform Acts and Codes, and the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and of Evidence. In Missouri, procedural civil and criminal codes have been created, a new Constitution has been adopted, and the judiciary has recently abandoned the doctrine of contributory negligence in favor of a system of pure comparative fault, working a fundamental change in our common law of …

Christmas Without Creches?: Can Private Nativity Scenes Be Banned From Public Land?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Transferable Development Rights In The Supreme Court, Linda A. Malone

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Inverse Liability Of The State Of Wisconsin For A De Facto "Temporary Taking" As A Result Of An Administrative Decision: Zinn V. State, Alemante G. Selassie

Faculty Publications

This Note examines Zinn v. State, a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, which held that plaintiff stated a claim for inverse condemnation against the State of Wisconsin when, as a result of an erroneous quasi-judicial decision by the DNR, plaintiff lost the use of her property for a little longer than a month. This Note takes the position that Zinn represents the growing tendency among courts to enlarge the scope of fact situations in which they will find a taking. Given this tendency, and given that the substantive test in Wisconsin of what constitutes a taking is identical whether a taking …

Congressional Preemption Of Mortgage Due-On-Sale Law: An Analysis Of The Garn-St. Germain Act, Dale A. Whitman, Grant S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

We first describe the several major types of mortgagor transfer restrictions, and the judicial and legislative responses to these restrictions before the Act. Second, we analyze the effect and coverage of the important provisions of the Act and its attendant regulation. The complex exceptions to the application of the Act known as “window periods” are then considered. These window periods were created by Congress in an attempt to soften the impact of the Act on states that previously restricted due-on-sale enforcement, and are based on preexisting state law. We examine the difficult standards for identifying such window periods and suggest …

Historic Preservation Easements: A Proposal For Ohio, Ronald H. Rosenberg, Pamela G. Jacobstein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Rule Of Insurable Interest And The Principle Of Indemnity: Are They Measures Of Damages In Property Insurance?, Emeric Fischer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Recrudescence Of Property Rights As The Foremost Principle Of Civil Liberties: The First Decade Of The Burger Court, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Secrecy And Real Property, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

It is not unusual for owners of real property to wish to conceal from government or the public either the fact of their ownership or certain salient characteristics of the property they hold. The objective of this article is to consider the extent to which this desire for secrecy is supported by sound policy and American legal doctrine. It will focus on the civil recourse available to an owner of real property against private persons who, without the owner's knowledge and consent, reveal information about the ownership or physical characteristics of the property. The article will also consider whether the …

Financing Condominiums And Cooperatives, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

This article will deal with legal problems relating to the financing of condominiums and cooperatives. While space does not permit a detailed treatment of the non-financing aspects of these forms of ownership, a rudimentary overview of the legal relationships involved will preface discussion of the central topic. Both condominiums and cooperatives are legal formats for “unit ownership” – that is, the ownership of a physically defined portion of a larger parcel of (usually improved) real property. In the majority of cases, the “unit” is a residential apartment in a multifamily housing project. Condominiums are much more tightly controlled by stage …

The Installment Land Contract--A National Viewpoint, Dale A. Whitman, Grant S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The installment land contract is rarely used in some states, but in many it is the predominant means of vendor financing of land sales. Much has been written about it, but nearly all of the literature focuses on the law of one particular state or another. Our purpose here is to provide a nationwide perspective, with particular attention to the states in which the contract has been widely used and extensively litigated. We propose to examine the reasons for the installment contract's popularity, its advantages and disadvantages, and the risks it presents to both vendor and purchaser.

Virginia Survey Of Law: Property Section; Trusts And Estates Section, Lynda L. Butler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Reassessment Of The Legal Bases Of Zoning, John E. Donaldson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Optimizing Land Title Assurance Systems, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

There is little unanimity of viewpoint concerning the complex and controversial subject of real estate settlement costs. The diverse interests and pressure groups seem to agree, however, that the public land title records of most jurisdictions are disarrayed, complicated, and inefficiently organized. This observation has been made with such frequency and conviction that it appears beyond dispute, and it will not be contested here.

"Active Conduct" Distinguished From "Conduct" Of A Rental Real Estate Business, John W. Lee

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Defending The Low-Income Tenant In North Carolina, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

The low-income tenant is in a uniquely precarious position under the law. He typically holds under an oral lease, often on an implied periodic tenancy from week to week. Even where a written lease is executed, it is almost invariably on a form prepared by the landlord. The tenant has little bargaining power in today's urban housing markets; moreover, he is usually not represented by counsel and is unable to intelligently exert whatever bargaining power he may possess. The land- lord is generally a professional in the renting business, and knows well how to manipulate the legal rules for his …

Transferring North Carolina Real Estate Part Ii--Roles, Ethics, And Reform, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

As we have seen in Part I of this article, prevailing practices in the transfer of North Carolina real estate are seriously deficient in their substantive protection of the buyer. Part II will explore whether these practices also violate the norms of professional conduct and will conclude with some proposals which should ameliorate both the substantive and ethical deficiencies which face the real estate buyer. Before doing so, however, it seems appropriate to discuss in some detail the roles of various actors in the typical transaction and the types of persons who fill those roles.

Transferring North Carolina Real Estate Part I--How The Present System Functions, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

As we have seen in Part I of this article, prevailing practices in the transfer of North Carolina real estate are seriously deficient in their substantive protection of the buyer. Part II will explore whether these practices also violate the norms of professional conduct and will conclude with some proposals which should ameliorate both the substantive and ethical deficiencies which face the real estate buyer. Before doing so, however, it seems appropriate to discuss in some detail the roles of various actors in the typical transaction and the types of persons who fill those roles.

Divorce Recognition - A Two-Headed Monster: Full Faith And Credit Due Process, Richard A. Williamson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Recent Developments In The North Carolina Law Of Eminent Domain, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

The recent opinions of the North Carolina appellate courts include a strikingly large proportion of eminent-domain cases. Two factors combine to explain the unusual frequency with which these cares are tried and appealed. The first is the elaborate activity of the federal government in funding local and state projects involving the acquisition of land. The Interstate Highway program probably accounts for the predominant portion of this activity, with other shares attributable to urban renewal, public housing, and airport improvement. When the more traditional activities of local government, such as street-widening and other public improvements, are added to the above list …

The Student As University Resident, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

This examination argues that the position that a student’s rights are determined by whether he lives on or off-campus is unraveled by the institution’s position as a state actor. This article disposes of the notion that the university is equivalent to a landlord in property and contract rights and discusses how this distinction affects students’ rights.

Applications Of The Distinction Between Mortgages And Trust Deeds In California, Joseph M. Cormack, James B. Irsfeld Jr.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal Concepts In Cases Of Eminent Domain, Joseph M. Cormack

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.