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Deeds And The Determinancy Norm: Insights From Brandt And Other Cases On An Undesignated, Yet Ever-Present, Interpretive Method, Donald J. Kochan

Florida State University Law Review

The land one holds is generally only as good as the property rights contained in the deed. The rights contained in the deed are only as good as the ability to get those rights enforced. And, the enforcement is only valuable if it recognizes a determinate meaning in the deeds from the point of conveyance. This Article pens the term “determinacy norm” to explain a collection of rules for the interpretation of deed terms that aim to make the meaning of deed terms de-terminate. I contend that, in order to satisfy the determinacy norm for deed interpretation, courts must (and …