Law Commons^™

Reforming Foreclosure: The Uniform Nonjudicial Foreclosure Act, Dale A. Whitman, Grant S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The Uniform Nonjudicial Foreclosure Act is one of the few creative approaches to mortgage foreclosure to emerge in many decades. In this Article, the authors examine why uniformity in foreclosure law among the states in desirable and, accordingly, advocate foreclosure reform. They analyze the Act, promulgated in 2002, giving specific attention to the Act's new methods of foreclosure by negotiated sale and by appraisal. They also examine the Act's numerous special protections for residential debtors and consider the effectiveness of the Act's procedures concerning subordinate leases, titles arising from foreclosures, surpluses and deficiencies resulting from foreclosures, and fairness of foreclosure …

Property Rights And Intrabrand Restraints, Alan J. Meese

Faculty Publications

Intrabrand restraints limit the discretion of one or more sellers-usually dealers-with respect to the disposition of a product sold under a single brand. While most scholars believe that such contracts can help assure optimal promotion of a manufacturer's products, there is disagreement about the exact manner in which such restraints accomplish this objective. Many scholars believe that such restraints themselves induce dealers to engage in promotional activities desired by the manufacturer. Others believe that such restraints merely serve as "performance bonds," which dealers will forfeit if they fail to follow the manufacturer's precise promotional instructions. Some scholars reject both approaches, …

The End Of The Hudson Valley's Peculiar Institution: The Anti-Rent Movement's Politics, Social Relations, & Economics, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Drawing The Line Between Taxes And Takings: The Continuous Burdens Principle, And Its Broader Application, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Zoning, Taking, And Dealing: The Problems And Promise Of Bargaining In Land Use Planning, Erin Ryan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Are We There Yet? The Case For A Uniform Electronic Recording Act, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

To implement digital recording, a confluence of several factors is necessary: political will on the part of the public officials involved (recorders and their political masters, usually county commissioners or supervisors), legal authority, and budgets adequate to the task. Without all of these factors, little progress is likely.

When Lochner Met Dolan: The Attempted Transformation Of American Land Use Law By Constitutional Interpretation, Ronald H. Rosenberg, Nancy Stroud

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

History And Interpretation Of The Great Case Of Johnson V. M'Intosh, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Estates & Trusts: 2001 Survey Of Florida Law, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Faculty Publications

This article discusses relevant changes in Florida probate and trust statutes and regulations through mid-2001, updating a prior survey published in 1998. The article highlights and summarizes, some aspects of the elective share provisions and other legislative changes to the Florida Probate Code and Trust Administration Statutes. Amendments to the Florida Probate Rules are also highlighted. Lastly, the article highlights some significant cases decided during mid-2001 that affected this area of the law.

Chinese Mortgage Law: An American Perspective, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

My objective in this paper is to compare and to evaluate some of the features of the American and Chinese systems. I do so without any preconception that the American system provides better answers, but with the recognition that it is far more mature and provides more answers. Hence it provides a reference point from which the Chinese system can be considered. Perhaps each system has something to teach the other.

The Pathology Of Property Norms: Living Within Nature's Boundaries, Lynda L. Butler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Respa - Questioning Its Effectiveness, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Faculty Publications

Purchasing real estate is a complicated process, especially for the average consumer. The closing procedure alone involves fees and documents that can be confusing to a borrower. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was enacted in 1974 in order to ease some of this confusion.

This article discusses the enactment of RESPA and its purpose, which is mainly to "insure that consumers... are provided with greater and more timely information on the nature and costs of the settlement process and are protected from unnecessarily high settlement charges caused by certain abusive practices." The article also discusses disclosure requirements that …

The Dark Side Of Efficiency: Johnson V. M'Intosh And The Expropriation Of Amerindian Lands, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Negotiated Development Denial Meets People's Court: Del Monte Dunes Brings New Wildcards To Exactions Law, Jonathan M. Davidson, Ronald H. Rosenberg, Michael C. Spata

Faculty Publications

The United States Supreme Court Answered "YES" to the $1.45 million over exaction question for 1999. In City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey Ltd., a unanimous court extended the scope of compensatory takings review beyond land dedication conditions into the realm of regulatory denial. Justice Kennedy's opinion vitalized the "legitimate state interests" test from Agins v. City of Tiburon to sustain an inverse condemnation conclusion and damage award to the frustrated developer. A majority of the court also concurred that the trial court may delegate this takings conclusion to the jury under federal civil rights law. The …

From Jeans To Genes: The Evolving Nature Of Property Of The Estate, A. Mechele Dickerson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Digital Recording Of Real Estate Conveyances, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to describe how such a revolutionary change in the recording system can take place, and to identify and discuss the major policy issues that must be resolved in order to accomplish it. This change ought to happen. Failure to update the system will result in the continued imposition of unnecessary costs and delays on those who buy, sell, or mortgage real estate in America.

Mortgage Drafting: Lessons From The Restatement Of Mortgages, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

The American Law Institute's adoption of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Mortgages may have significant impact on the negotiation and drafting of mortgages. Rather than merely reciting the prevailing case law, the Restatement proposes approaches the American Law Institute believes are desirable as a matter of sound policy. This Article highlights key areas in which the new Restatement may affect mortgage drafting and suggests useful techniques for mortgage drafters.

Where's Dolan? Exactions Law In 1998, Jonathan M. Davidson, Ronald H. Rosenberg, Michael C. Spata

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reforming The Law: The Payment Rule As A Paradigm , Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

The concept of negotiability of promissory notes is solidly entrenched in American commercial law. It derives from the English common law notion that a negotiable instrument is a reification of the obligation it describes; the instrument is regarded as a tangible form of the obligation. This notion has multiple ramifications, but three stand out. The first is the holder in due course doctrine which asserts that, when a negotiable instrument is transferred by the correct process (negotiation, which requires delivery of the paper) to someone with the right qualities (good faith, lack of notice, and payment of value), the maker …

Residential Zoning Regulations And The Perpetuation Of Apartheid, Janai S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

In January of 1996, the South African Parliament ratified the long-awaited Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Bill, which has engendered heated controversy since its inception. For many, the success of the Land Reform Bill portends the economic and political future of South Africa and is a gauge of apartheid's vital signs. Without land, most South Africans would remain in the same impoverished and disenfranchised conditions that they were in under the apartheid regime. With land, however, South Africans have an improved chance to achieve economic equality. Land reform and land use have become particularly crucial issues in light of President Mandela's …

Rethinking Proceeds: The History, Misinterpretation And Revision Of U.C.C. Section 9-306, R. Wilson Freyermuth

Faculty Publications

This article provides a careful analysis of the proper scope of the term “proceeds” under Section 9-306. Parts II and III develop a coherent conception of the term “proceeds” by focusing upon the proper interpretation of Section 9-306 in its current form. Part II evaluates the passage of title conception of proceeds in light of the 1972 and 1987 amendments to Article 9 and demonstrates that this conception is fundamentally inconsistent with the economic, value-based conception of proceeds that emerges from those amendments. Using this emerging conception of proceeds, which focuses upon the occurrence of an event that exhausts or …

Rethinking Future Advance Mortgages: A Brief For The Restatement Approach, Dale A. Whitman, Grant S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The advantages of such arrangements, under which the mortgagor takes none or only a portion of the loan at the outset but receives the balance in the future, are substantial. The mortgagor saves interest on the unadvanced portion until it is needed and avoids the need to invest this portion at an interest rate that at least equals the rate being paid to the lender. Moreover, both parties avoid the expense and paperwork inherent in refinancing the initial loan or in executing a series of junior mortgages to secure each advance. Finally, in the construction loan context, before committing large …

Urban Revitalization And Community Finance: An Introduction, Peter R. Pitegoff

Faculty Publications

"In his 1933 poem Burn the Cities, Nathanael West, the iconoclastic American novelist and urban radical, portrays the city as a focal point of discontent and of anguish for the world's predicament.2 From Jerusalem to Paris and finally to London, the poem winds through distressing urban imagery with scant opportunity for escape. The implicit modicum of hope is an overthrow of the present order. From older cities abroad, West imports an apocalyptic vision of cities at home."

Avoiding Takings “Accidents”: A Torts Perspective On Takings Law, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

Viewing the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment as a form of insurance appeals to our intuition. The government, like fire, does not often "take" property, but when faced with extraordinary risk property owners naturally desire compensation. Recent scholarship, however, has dissolved the attractiveness of this perspective. This literature, through economic analysis, claims that the Takings Clause should be repealed and replaced with private takings insurance. This is the "no-compensation" result. This article argues that the insurance-based understanding of the just compensation requirement can be preserved without reaching the surprising no-compensation result. The intuitive appeal of understanding the Takings Clause …

Of Hotel Revenues, Rents, And Formalism In The Bankruptcy Courts: Implications For Reforming Commercial Real Estate Finance, R. Wilson Freyermuth

Faculty Publications

This article is intended to continue the dialogue begun by the proposed Restatement and has two distinct goals in this effort. Parts I through III argue that the position of the Restatement drafters is both legally and functionally sound and that bankruptcy courts should embrace and apply the proposed Restatement in administering distressed real estate developments. Part I reviews the reasoning articulated in the hotel bankruptcy cases, demonstrating how courts have applied the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and state law in a formalistic manner to extinguish the hotel mortgagee's lien upon postpetition room revenues. Part II rejects the analysis …

Mortgage Prepayment Clauses: An Economic And Legal Analysis, Dale A. Whitman

Faculty Publications

Most mortgages on income-producing real estate (as distinct from owner-occupied housing) contain clauses restricting early payment of the loan. These clauses are highly controversial, and borrowers often resist their enforcement. While other writers have discussed prepayment clauses in the recent legal literature, my objectives in this article are to advance this discussion in three respects: first, to provide an economic perspective on mortgage prepayment as support for a set of legal recommendations; second, to consider whether the bankruptcy of the mortgagor should affect enforceability of a prepayment fee clause; and third, to analyze the cumulative effect of the presence in …

Private Land Use, Changing Public Values And Notions Of Relativity, Lynda L. Butler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Valuation Issues In Applying Fraudulent Transfer Law To Leveraged Buyouts, Alemante G. Selassie

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Statutory Personal Property Lease Law In Alabama, Peter A. Alces, P. Cade Newman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Necessary Interrelationship Between Land Use And Preservation Of Groundwater Resources, Linda A. Malone

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.