Law Commons^™

On The Origins Of The Modern Corporation And Private Property, Bernard C. Beaudreau

Seattle University Law Review

The Modern Corporation and Private Property (MCPP) by Adolf A. Berle Jr. and Gardiner Means, published in 1932, is undisputedly the most influential work ever written in the field of corporate governance. In a nutshell, Berle and Means argued that corporate control had been usurped by a new class of managers, the result of which included (1) shareholder loss of control (a basic property right), (2) questionable corporate objectives and behavior, and (3) the potential breakdown of the market mechanism. In this paper, I examine the origins of MCPP, paying particular attention to the authors’ underlying motives. I argue that …

When A Tent Is Your Castle: Constitutional Protection Against Unreasonable Searches Of Makeshift Dwellings Of Unhoused Persons, Evanie Parr

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will argue that all jurisdictions should follow the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II in validating makeshift dwellings used by people experiencing homelessness as spaces protected from unwarranted police intrusions by shifting evaluations of “reasonable expectations of privacy” to a more equitable standard that appreciates the realities of economic disparity. This approach to constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures is imperative to protect the rights of people experiencing homelessness, given that such individuals are regularly subjected to invasions of privacy and heightened exposure to the criminal justice system.

"Distinctive Sounds": A Critique Of The Transformative Fair Use Test In Practice And The Need For A New Music Fair Use Exception, Kristin Bateman

Seattle University Law Review

The Constitution gives Congress the power “[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts,” resulting in our modern regime of patent, trademark, and copyright law. Over time, however, this artistic tradition of copying has collided with more modern concepts of intellectual property rights, especially copyright protections. The advent of the internet as well as state-of-the-art recording and mixing software has vastly increased opportunities to copy, remix, sample, parody, and otherwise alter the work of other artists, particularly musicians. More than twenty years after Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, transformative fair use has become the predominant test courts have used to …

The Copyright Box Model, Stephen T. Black

Seattle University Law Review

Intellectual property law is territorial in nature. That is why intellectual property assets have always been favorites among international tax planners. Rapid appreciation, even faster transfer times, and a somewhat vague standard for appraisal and valuation make for an interesting field of play. Transfer the assets to a low tax jurisdiction before the appreciation begins, and you find yourself with a large income stream that is taxed at a low rate. Miss the beat, and you have a large tax hit. For these reasons, many nations have followed the lead of Ireland in providing for so-called “patent box” schemes. These …

Of Mines And Men: Toward A Foundational Theory Of The Rise, Evolution And Decay Of Property, Guillermo Arribas Irazola

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

Why and how is property created? Through a historical analysis, this paper proposes that property is created not out of ideology, but by chance. Depending on the resources encountered by newcomers, a rising civilization will establish property through a centralized controlling government (a top-down system) or through people’s recognized possession (a bottom-up or Lockean system). In the former, the government will create and allocate property at its own discretion, while in the latter, the government will recognize and provide protection for the property of individuals.

When the Spaniards conquered Peru in the 1528, they found immense amounts of gold and …

Racially Restrictive Covenants In The State Of Washington: A Primer For Practitioners, Rajeev Majumdar

Seattle University Law Review

Part II of this Comment will begin by examining the history of racially restrictive covenants, specifically the nature of covenants and the role of the federal government in both spreading and hindering the usage of such covenants. Part III will discuss the legal underpinnings of what makes such covenants unenforceable in Washington, and the best processes an attorney can use to remove them. Part IV will discuss a recent case that has significantly altered the collateral consequences of attempting to destroy racially restrictive covenants upon other associated covenants. As a result, those seeking to retain the benefits of other covenants …

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage? Applying Washington's Community Property Marriage Statutes To Cohabitational Relationships, Jennifer L. King

Seattle University Law Review

The “Creasman presumption” held that, absent any evidence to the contrary, the way property was titled at the end of a cohabitational relationship was presumed to be the way the parties intended. The “exceptions” to the Creasman presumption should be the rule to ensure the flexibility required by equity in these types of cases, while keeping distinct the lines between marriage and cohabitation. To promote this thesis, Part II discusses the facts of Creasman and then dispels the myth of importance surrounding its presumption. Part III reviews the facts of In re Marriage of Lindsey, looks at whether cohabitation …

The Public Duty Doctrine And Municipal Liability For Negligent Administration Of Zoning Codes, Shelly K. Speir

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment first provides a brief background of the development of the public duty doctrine. Part II discusses the two major types of zoning cases: those involving negligent misstatements and those involving negligent issuance of permits or inspections. The use of the public duty doctrine in both types of cases is then analyzed under relevant Washington case law. Part III argues for the abolition of the public duty doctrine and Part IV concludes.

Present And Future Interests: A Graphic Explanation, Roger W. Andersen

Seattle University Law Review

Few topics bedevil more law students than the law of present and future interests. With the goal of eliminating some of the confusion, this Article highlights the basic doctrine with a new set of diagrams to represent graphically how various interests behave. This Article opens with a question many students ask and then proceeds to the core concepts in the law of present and future interests.

Civil Forfeiture And The Eighth Amendment After Austin, James E. Beaver, Kit G. Narodick, Joseph M. Wallin

Seattle University Law Review

Imagine owning an expensive piece of property, a piece of real estate perhaps, or maybe a car or boat. Now imagine having your property forcefully taken away from you because someone suspects, or pretends to suspect, that you are using the property in the commission of criminal acts. Then, imagine having to hire a lawyer and start a lawsuit to recover your property. After spending a small fortune in legal fees to recover your own property, imagine you lose your lawsuit, not because you could not prove your rightful ownership before its forceful seizure, but because you could not prove …

Standing In The Shadows: Honoring The Contractual Obligations Of Cohabitants For Support, Tammy L. Lewis

Seattle University Law Review

Initially, this Comment will examine traditional theories of marital support and their relation to post-cohabitant support. Next, this Comment will review express contract, implied-in-fact contract, and quasi-contract theories of support and how these different theories have been effectively applied by various state courts. A brief discussion follows concerning federal courts and the confusion surrounding the federal jurisdiction of cohabitation actions. Finally, the contract theories of relief will be contrasted against proposed legal status solutions.Ultimately, this Comment concludes that post-cohabitation support issues are best resolved through contract theories. Solutions based on legal status are extremely intrusive and impose unbargained-for terms upon …

The Public Trust Doctrine In Washington, A. Reid Allison Iii

Seattle University Law Review

This Article addresses questions of resource allocation and property rights, first, by presenting a brief description of the historical and legal foundation of coastal resource allocation in the United States: the “public trust doctrine.” Second, a survey of the Washington experience demonstrates, surprisingly, that a state whose 2,337 miles of marine coastline approximately equals the length of the entire remaining coastline of the contiguous western United States, has managed to establish a viable and responsive regulatory regime governing coastal resource use with scarcely a mention in its laws of the “public trust doctrine.”

Miotke V. City Of Spokane: Nuisance Or Inverse Condemnation—Theories For Government Environmental Liability, Gary L. Baker

Seattle University Law Review

A recent decision by the Washington State Supreme Court, Miotke v. City of Spokane, may broadly affect the right to and type of recovery that will be available to persons whose property rights are infringed either by an agent of the state or by private parties. Miotke involved the dumping of untreated sewage into a river, with the sewage flowing into a lake and interfering with lakefront property owners' enjoyment of their property. The court in Miotke faced a set of claims in property, tort, and state environmental law. The court recognized the significance of its decision and the …

Real Estate Contracts And The Doctrine Of Equitable Conversion In Washington: Dispelling The Ashford Cloud, Linda S. Hume

Seattle University Law Review

The principal thesis of this Article is that property and contract questions should not be solved independently and are most usefully approached in a distinct order. Because the installment contract divides the incidents of property ownership usually associated with legal title between the parties to the contract, it should be treated differently than the earnest money contract in which the incidents of ownership are not divided. In addition, it is important to first answer some remedial questions before proceeding to make decisions about the property interest of each party to the contract. To support this thesis, this Article explains in …