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Postmortem Rights Of Publicity: The Federal Estate Tax Consequences Of New State-Law Property Rights, Bridget J. Crawford
Postmortem Rights Of Publicity: The Federal Estate Tax Consequences Of New State-Law Property Rights, Bridget J. Crawford
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
California recently passed legislation that creates retroactive, descendible rights of publicity. The New York State Assembly is poised to enact similar legislation. Legal recognition of postmortem rights of publicity permits a decedent's named beneficiaries or heirs to control (and financially benefit from) use of a deceased personality's image and likeness. Legislators, proponents of these laws, and legal commentators have overlooked two significant federal estate tax consequences of these new state law property rights. First, a descendible right of publicity likely will be included in a decedent's gross estate for federal estate tax purposes. Second, the estate tax value of rights …
The Mighty Myths Of Kelo, John R. Nolon
The Mighty Myths Of Kelo, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The press releases of property rights activists and the media’s rapid embrace of their views have perpetuated several myths about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. New London. In the immediate aftermath of this myth making, the legislatures of several states have adopted restrictions on the use of eminent domain with uncharacteristic speed. Wisely, the New York State Legislature has been more cautious in its reaction.
Historical Overview Of The American Land Use System: A Diagnostic Approach To Evaluating Governmental Land Use Control, John R. Nolon
Historical Overview Of The American Land Use System: A Diagnostic Approach To Evaluating Governmental Land Use Control, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article describes how the American land use system has evolved to address recent environmental and economic development problems. It begins by tracing the history of the legal system used in the United States to control private sector land development and demonstrates how it achieved the flexibility needed to respond to modern challenges. The American land use system has paid a price for this flexibility: it is not a coherent whole, but rather a fragmented mosaic of legal influences. Impressive examples of cohesion are cited that suggest a strategic approach to reforming the system so that it can become an …
Comparative Land Use Law: Patterns Of Sustainability, John R. Nolon
Comparative Land Use Law: Patterns Of Sustainability, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Land use scholars and practitioners in the United States trace the development of domestic land use law to 1916, when the City of New York adopted the nation's first comprehensive zoning law, and then on to 1926 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared zoning constitutional in Euclid v. Ambler Realty. Some have studied European influences stemming from late nineteenth century regulations and the urban design principles imported from the great cities of the era. Others know about the catastrophic London fire of 1666 and how it transformed society's understanding of why individual property rights, to some degree, must be subject …
Specific Relief For Ancient Deprivations Of Property, Shelby D. Green
Specific Relief For Ancient Deprivations Of Property, Shelby D. Green
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
I consider in this paper the extent to which courts rationally and on a principled basis can deny to aboriginal claimants, despite the ancientness of their claims, the specific relief of being restored to possession of their aboriginal lands where the case for such specific relief is otherwise made. The paper begins with a brief discussion of the foundations of property in the Western conception, then goes on to discuss the Europeans' asserted title to indigenous lands and the various theories of aboriginal title that have emerged. It then explores the past and existing legal obstacles to the judicial resolution …
The Takings Clause And The Separation Of Powers: An Essay, John A. Humbach
The Takings Clause And The Separation Of Powers: An Essay, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The most fundamental environmental problem is this: across our nation there are literally hundreds of millions of acres of important natural resource lands-- farms, forests, wetlands, reservoir watersheds, shore lands, endangered species habitat--lands that have relatively little commercial value in their present natural condition, but which would have much greater commercial value if their natural values were degraded or destroyed. Stated differently, private property often will yield a much greater profit to its owner if it is used in ways that will harm or obliterate important environmental assets and values. For this reason, private owners are understandably tempted to supplant …
Takings And Property Rights Legislation, John R. Nolon
Takings And Property Rights Legislation, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Over the years, regulatory takings case law has supported land use regulations by cloaking them with a presumption of validity and placing a heavy burden on their challengers of proving either that the regulation fails to substantially advance a legitimate public purpose or that it deprives the owner of all economically beneficial use of the land. Insulated in this way, regulators, on occasion, have transgressed the boundaries of fundamental fairness.
Should Taxpayers Pay People To Obey Environmental Laws?, John A. Humbach
Should Taxpayers Pay People To Obey Environmental Laws?, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Should taxpayers have to pay people not to put pollutants into streams and reservoirs? Should taxpayers have to pay people not to kill off entire species? Should taxpayers have to reach into their pockets and pay people not to disperse development seamlessly across the countryside, relentlessly consuming, fragmenting, and degrading our nation's remaining natural lands until almost all is gone? Should we, in short, have to pay people not to engage in land-uses that have been determined to be too socially unacceptable to allow?
The Public Housing Tenancy: Variation On The Common Law That Give Security Of Tenure And Control, Shelby D. Green
The Public Housing Tenancy: Variation On The Common Law That Give Security Of Tenure And Control, Shelby D. Green
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This Article explores the character of the public housing tenancy, comparing it with the common law tenancy under private lease law and evaluating the degree to which private lease law will protect the interests of low-income families if current proposals to abolish existing in-kind housing programs are adopted. Part II of this Article traces the history of federally funded housing programs and describes the various strategies employed. Part III discusses the recent changes in modern private lease law and recounts the basic rights and obligations of the landlord and tenant, which define and govern the rights of low-income families under …
Reclaiming The Public Domain By Repeal Of The Mining Law Of 1872, Shelby D. Green
Reclaiming The Public Domain By Repeal Of The Mining Law Of 1872, Shelby D. Green
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This paper offers an analysis of the new allocation of burdens and benefits in the use of public lands as contemplated by the proposed legislation. In Part III, I discuss the acquisition of property rights under the General Mining Law of 1872. In Part IV, the theory of property in general is explained along with the types and nature of property interests inhering in, and arising from, a mining claim. I explain the recent efforts in Congress to reform the mining law in Part V and the concept of a taking of property in general in Part VI. I discuss …
Evolving Thresholds Of Nuisance And The Takings Clause, John A. Humbach
Evolving Thresholds Of Nuisance And The Takings Clause, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article reviews the historical tradition in which the common law core of nuisance has been the frequent subject of statutory additions and refinements, providing most of our modern law of land use and environmental protection. Until Lucas, the Takings Clause had not been treated as a charter establishing the courts as boards of revision to rethink and selectively veto legislative determinations in the land use field. Within the scope of “total takings,” however, Lucas has converted the Takings Clause from its original meaning and made it exactly that.
"Taking" The Imperial Judiciary Seriously: Segmenting Property Interests And Judicial Revision Of Legislative Judgments, John A. Humbach
"Taking" The Imperial Judiciary Seriously: Segmenting Property Interests And Judicial Revision Of Legislative Judgments, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This Article examines the diversion of the Takings Clause from its historic limited role to that of a charter for courts to second-guess legislative determinations of land-use rights and wrongs. As we shall see, prior to Lucas the Supreme Court and others following its lead have generally not regarded the Takings Clause as a warrant for reaching de novo determinations on land use problems and then substituting such judicial determinations, if different, for those of the legislature. Some notable exceptions in the Claims Court and Federal Circuit will then be considered along with the ostensible Supreme Court authority, a sentence …
Private Property Investment, Lucas And The Fairness Doctrine, John R. Nolon
Private Property Investment, Lucas And The Fairness Doctrine, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
These remarks are not intended to advocate the interests of the new property rights movement. In fact, those advocates will be disappointed by what I say. Rather, I aspire to view the issue of real property regulation as broadly as possible, reaching beyond the jurisprudence of regulatory takings cases into the realms of real estate transactions law and comprehensive land use planning.
What Is Behind The "Property Rights" Debate?, John A. Humbach
What Is Behind The "Property Rights" Debate?, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council' obviously presents issues that range far more broadly than just whether people should be allowed to build on beaches and dunes. Many observers have viewed the case as a splendid opportunity for the Supreme Court to re-establish private owner autonomy in land use decisions - to cut down, perhaps drastically, on elected legislatures' traditional power to protect the environment by regulating uses of land. Behind the "property rights" debate is the question of whether states and communities really ought to have the power that they have traditionally had to control the development and patterns …
Footprints In The Shifting Sands Of The Isle Of Palms: A Practical Analysis Of Regulatory Takings Cases, John R. Nolon
Footprints In The Shifting Sands Of The Isle Of Palms: A Practical Analysis Of Regulatory Takings Cases, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
It was not until the last day of the term, June 29, 1992, that the Court decided Lucas. By that time, interest could not have been greater. At issue was the validity of a regulation that prohibited all permanent development of the plaintiff's two beachfront lots. The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the regulation by a 3-2 margin because it prevented a “great public harm.” The U.S. Supreme Court reversed that determination and remanded the case to determine whether South Carolina's common law of nuisance could prohibit the construction of single-family housing on the lots. The fractured Court delivered an …
Public Rights In The Navigable Streams Of New York, John A. Humbach
Public Rights In The Navigable Streams Of New York, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the New York judicial decisions bearing on the public's right to use the state's navigable streams and waterways. The cases have been organized into a logical framework, in outline form, in order to give future researchers ready access to the relevant judicial materials. Wherever possible, the main thrust of the cases has been presented in the court's own words. Brief narrative summaries of the case law are provided under the main outline headings. An attempt has been made to include a reference to every New York case relevant to public use of freshwater …
Law And A New Land Ethic, John A. Humbach
Law And A New Land Ethic, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
As open space comes under increasing development pressure, existing-use zoning provides a direct and forthright way to preserve the line between urban and non-urban land use. Ultimately it may be the only practical means for protecting high-demand or sensitive areas such as wetlands, coastlines, lakeshores, floodplains, stream corridors, and pristine reservoir watersheds. This Article reviews the viability of existing-use zoning under United States Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution's takings clause. It concludes that nothing in those interpretations disallows this straightforward approach to preserving our country's familiar patterns of land use and development.
Shattering The Myth Of Municipal Impotence: The Authority Of Local Government To Create Affordable Housing, John R. Nolon
Shattering The Myth Of Municipal Impotence: The Authority Of Local Government To Create Affordable Housing, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
In the absence of any guidance from the legislature, local officials, in confronting the problem of affordable housing, look to the courts to define the extent of their responsibility and power. While not providing specific direction, the New York Court of Appeals has clearly outlawed zoning designed to exclude affordable housing. The judiciary has voiced doubts, however, that municipal governments can, through zoning alone, require the development of affordable housing. The view that municipalities lack such power is erroneous. Zoning alone is competent to induce such development. Furthermore, local governments have considerable additional power to induce the creation of such …
Constitutional Limits On The Power To Take Private Property: Public Purpose And Public Use, John A. Humbach
Constitutional Limits On The Power To Take Private Property: Public Purpose And Public Use, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The rights/freedoms dichotomy tacitly permeates Supreme Court ‘takings' jurisprudence, and it has an explanatory power which extends to virtually all ‘takings' cases decided by the Court. Its explanatory power does not, however, extend to the relatively few cases which involve the taking of ‘rights' for purely private use, that is rearrangements of existing private property rights, as opposed to takings for use by the government or its designees in some public service function. Because rearranging the existing pattern of private ownership takes ‘rights' and not mere ‘freedoms,’ we might expect, according to the rights/freedoms pattern, that the Court would uniformly …
Economic Due Process And The Takings Clause, John A. Humbach
Economic Due Process And The Takings Clause, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The discussion which follows will examine the new verbalizations repeatedly employed in Supreme Court takings decisions of the past decade and the Court's enlistment of the just compensation requirement as a basis for undertaking substantive review of legislation. As an introduction, the distinctive historical roles and roots of the substantive due process and just compensation requirements will be reviewed.
The Common-Law Conception Of Leasing: Mitigation, Habitability, And Dependence Of Covenants, John A. Humbach
The Common-Law Conception Of Leasing: Mitigation, Habitability, And Dependence Of Covenants, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Property law may be the most eternal of secular law. Its basic precepts and conceptions are largely stable and long settled. An aspect of property law undergoing notable change, however, is the law of landlord and tenant. The most important recent change in landlord-tenant law involves the reversal of responsibility for the quality of leased premises. In place of the tenant's traditional burden of caveat emptor and duty of repair, many courts now recognize an implied warranty of habitability, at least for residential tenancies. These same courts typically reject the traditional doctrine that mutual obligations in leases are "independent," that …
A Unifying Theory For The Just-Compensation Cases: Takings, Regulation And Public Use, John A. Humbach
A Unifying Theory For The Just-Compensation Cases: Takings, Regulation And Public Use, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This discussion begins with some remarks concerning the concept of property as a general matter. It will then consider briefly an approach to the problem which, though promising and advanced, nevertheless falls short of achieving an internally consistent, unifying theory. Following this introduction, an attempt will be made to specify the two distinctive conceptual components of property interests on whose difference the cases seem to turn, and then to demonstrate the suitability of this conceptual distinction as the foundation for a coherent theory of the law.
Review Of Private Property And The Constitution By Bruce Ackerman, John A. Humbach
Review Of Private Property And The Constitution By Bruce Ackerman, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
What Is Taught In The First Year Property Course?, John A. Humbach
What Is Taught In The First Year Property Course?, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The battle over the first-year curriculum will unlikely ever end so long as there is a diversity of views as to what ought to be taught there. Because first-year courses are both a requirement (for the most part) and an initiation, most would probably agree that their subject matter should tend to emphasize the fundamental and general, not the esoteric or the highly specialized areas of legal knowledge. Nevertheless, first year subject matter should not be so abstractly "general" that it is too far removed from the real issues which a practical lawyer is likely to face. Beyond this, agreement …
Landlord Control Of Tenant Behavior: An Instance Of Private Environmental Legislation, John A. Humbach
Landlord Control Of Tenant Behavior: An Instance Of Private Environmental Legislation, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The present Article suggests that the problem of incompatible neighboring tenants can be most efficiently and "justly" dealt with by permitting a substantial degree of landlord control over tenant behavior-with the removal of offending tenants, at the landlord's instance, being the most effective sanction of ultimate recourse in the effectuation of such control. For some courts, ceding this power of control to landlords would require a measure of constraint which they may find uncustomary or even distasteful. As institutions charged with doing justice, the courts' instinct to intervene in the norm-creating process is undoubtedly great, even when the parties before …
Tidal Title And The Boundaries Of The Bay: The Case Of The Submerged "High Water" Mark, John A. Humbach
Tidal Title And The Boundaries Of The Bay: The Case Of The Submerged "High Water" Mark, John A. Humbach
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The unique character and special public importance of lands bordering the sea have been recognized since ancient times. In the nature of things, shore lands, together with the waters which cover them (permanently or periodically), have a number of valuable uses not shared generally with inland territories. Navigation, passage, fishery, and bathing are among the particular uses of the shore or adjacent sea for which the public has traditionally received greater or lesser legal protection. However, this list is neither exclusive nor closed. For example, the recent avalanche of accretions to our stock of ecological knowledge has heightened (if not …