Property Law and Real Estate Commons^™

A Non-Fatal Collision: Where Religious Land Uses And Community Interests Meet, Adam J. Macleod

Scholarly Articles

This paper grapples with the question how best to interpret the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which creates a prophylactic remedy in favor of religious land users burdened by local land use regulations. Where the burden on religious exercise is substantial, RLUIPA subjects the regulation to strict scrutiny review. Several scholars object to RLUIPA on the grounds that it violates principles of federalism and equality between religious and non-religious landowners. Other scholars make the case for an expansive RLUIPA on the ground that the First Amendment privileges religious exercise over other types of land use.

This article first …

Curbing Rent-Seeking And Inefficiency With Broad Takings Powers And Undercompensation: The Case Of Singapore From A Givings Perspective, Jianlin Chen

Washington International Law Journal

Conventional discourses on the perils of weak property rights vis-à-vis government takings have failed to account for and respond to the rent-seeking and inefficiency problems of government actions. Singapore, with its broad takings powers, coupled with express undercompensation, has not suffered from the predicted widespread rent-seeking and inefficiency. This case study of Singapore from a givings perspective demonstrates the importance of imposing a fair charge on the various kinds of givings in curbing rent-seeking and inefficiency. There are also additional benefits of having a healthy fiscal budget and more equitable taxation arising from Singapore’s givings regime. The key normative implication …

A Post-Carcieri Vocabulary Exercise: What If "Now" Really Means "Then"?, Heidi M. Staudenmaier, Ruth K. Khalsa

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

When the Indian Reorganization Act1 (“IRA”) was passed in 1934, it officially defined an “Indian” as a member of a recognized tribe “now under federal jurisdiction.” For nearly three-quarters of a century, this definition of an Indian and an Indian tribe — hallmarked by the four-word phrase “now under federal jurisdiction” — guided federal policy and agency action on a host of matters, including management of federal lands, land-into-trust acquisitions made on behalf of tribes, and — after 1988 — application of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”).

In February 2009, however, the United States Supreme Court upended seventy-five years …

Unbundling Homeownership: Regional Reforms From The Inside Out, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Journal Articles

Two vexing puzzles plague American land use regulators. The first puzzle is how to protect property owners from harmful spillovers without unduly stifling land use diversity. The dominant forms of land use regulation in the United States - zoning and private covenants - rely on ex ante prohibitions. Yet, since local governments and private developers rarely can calibrate the level of regulation to residents’ true preferences, the costs imposed by these regulations tend to exceed the benefits of actual harm prevention. The result is the over-protection of property owners and, and, many would argue, a monotonous, sterile, inefficient, and inconvenient …

Hydraulic Fracturing Goes To Court: How Texas Jurisprudence On Subsurface Trespass Will Influence West Virginia Oil And Gas Law, Travis Zeik

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Following Industry's Leed : Municipal Adoption Of Private Green Building Standards, Sarah B. Schindler

Faculty Publications

Local governments are beginning to require new, privately constructed and funded buildings to be “green” buildings. Instead of creating their own, locally-derived definitions of green buildings, many municipalities are adopting an existing private standard created by members of the building industry: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This Article explains and assesses the privately promulgated LEED standards. It argues that the translation of LEED standards, which were intended to be voluntary, into law raises several theoretical and practical problems. Specifically, private green building ordinances that rely on LEED do not ensure a reduction in the negative local environmental impacts …

Character Counts: The "Character Of The Government Action" In Regulatory Takings Actions, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Article 28 Of The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, And Proposals For Reform, David Fautsch

Michigan Journal of International Law

The purpose of this Note is two-fold: first, to demonstrate why the standards set out in Article 28 require further clarification, and second, to propose reforms (both inside and outside of the United Nations framework) that might benefit indigenous peoples claiming land rights.

Protecting The Unsophisticated Tenant: A Call For A Cap On Late Fees In The Housing Choice Voucher Program, Wendy Tolson Ross

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Property And The Public Forum: An Essay On Christian Legal Society V. Martinez, B. Jessie Hill

Faculty Publications

Christian Legal Society v. Martinez is situated at the intersection of various, and arguably conflicting, lines of doctrine. In ultimately holding that the Hastings College of Law could decline to recognize the student chapter of the Christian Legal Society due to the group’s refusal to accept members who did not conform their beliefs and conduct to the principles of CLS (particularly regarding homosexuality),the Supreme Court was required to sort through a tangle of precedents involving free speech limitations in nonpublic for a, religious groups’ rights of equal access to school facilities, and freedom of expressive association.

Perhaps less obviously, however, …

Landlords Of Last Resort: Should The Government Subsidize The Mortgages Of Privately-Owned, Small Multifamily Buildings?, David Reiss

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Will The Current Economic Crisis Fuel A Return To Racial Policies That Deny Homeownership Opportunity And Wealth?, Marcia Johnson

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Cutting The Gordian Knot: The Case For Allowing Modification Of Home Mortgages In Bankruptcy, Susan E. Hauser

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Cases, Materials And Problems In Property (Third Edition), Richard H. Chused

Books

This casebook raises interesting and challenging problems concerning the development of property law. Property concepts are introduced through cutting edge issues, such as intellectual property, rights of publicity, and ownership rights in the human body. Historical dimensions are presented through discussions of laws which formerly excluded certain individuals from most forms of ownership and property control, such as Native Americans, African Americans, and women. The text covers traditional topics: estates in land, landlord and tenant laws, transfers of property, private land use controls, and constitutional limitations on public land use controls.

You Can Have It, But Can You Hold It?: Treating Domain Names As Tangible Property, Daniel Hancock

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Development And Natural Beauty: The Promise And Dilemma Of Conservation Easements, Zachary A. Bray

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Local and regional private land trusts are among the most important and most numerous conservation actors in contemporary America, and conservation easements are perhaps the key land conservation tools used by these trusts. In recent decades, privately held conservation easements and local and regional private land trusts have grown at a rapid and increasing rate, and the total acreage protected by privately held conservation easements is now larger than some states. The early growth of privately held conservation easements met widespread approval, but more recently, contemporary conservation easement practice has attracted many critics, based in part on well-publicized national scandals …

Acceptable Deviance And Property Rights, Mark A. Edwards

Faculty Scholarship

Compliance with - or deviance from - law is often dependent upon the law’s convergence with - or divergence from - normative sensibilities. Where the legality and social acceptability of behavior diverge, some deviance is socially acceptable. Property rights evolve in response to changes in normative sensibilities. Constructing a model of acceptable deviance and applying it to property rights, we can predict and actually observe the evolution of property rights in response to changes in normative sensibilities in areas as diverse as file-sharing, foreclosures, the use of public space, and fishing rights. We can also predict and observe stresses in …

Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac And The Future Of Federal Housing Finance Policy: A Study Of Regulatory Privilege, David Reiss

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Protecting The Good-Faith Tenant: Enforcing Retaliatory Eviction Laws By Broadening The Residential Tenant's Options In Summary Eviction Courts, Lauren A. Lindsey

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ending Surprise Liens On Real Property, Chad J. Pomeroy

Faculty Articles

Academics, lawmakers, and the general public have long believed that secret liens are problematic. In real property, these are liens that are not recorded in the real property filing system. Secret liens become especially problematic when they are enforced, despite their secrecy, against subsequent purchasers of the property. If the purchaser does not satisfy the lien by paying the underlying debt, the lien holder can foreclose on the property. One of the main purposes of having real property recording statutes was to avoid surprise liens (secret liens afforded priority over subsequent purchasers) and ensure that real estate purchasers and investors …

The Wholesale Decommissioning Of Vacant Urban Neighborhoods: Smart Decline, Public-Purpose Takings, And The Legality Of Shrinking Cities, Ben Beckman

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note is principally concerned with those takings that arise from the State's exercise of eminent domain, either directly or through the State's designee. To put a finer point on it, this Note addresses the distinction that property-rights advocates have developed to delegitimize certain types of takings. This distinction divides condemnations into disfavored-yet-legitimate takings-the direct-government-use and common-carrier takings-and ostensibly illegitimate public-purpose takings. The property-rights movement unequivocally places economic-development takings in the illegitimate category. The status of blight-remediation takings is ambiguous but tends toward legitimacy.

Technical Correction Or Tectonic Shift: Competing Default Rule Theories Under The New Uniform Probate Code, Lee-Ford Tritt

UF Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this article considers the default rules of testacy and intestacy, analyzes various policies proffered to justify these rules, and proposes that succession law should return to its original mission of effectuating decedent's intent. Part II introduces the case study of the 2008 UPC Amendments in a detailed description. Part III then analyzes whether the primary policy goal of testamentary intent and succession law's structural goals are effectuated by the 2008 UPC Amendments. Part IV provides recommendations to states considering adoption of the 2008 UPC Amendments on an a la carte basis and also recommends language for practitioners …

Single Asset Real Estate And Development Projects: The Kara Homes Mistake, Marshall E. Tracht

Articles & Chapters

The Kara Homes decision held that various affiliates of Kara Homes, Inc., each of which owned a separate real estate project, were "single asset real estate" ("SARE'') cases under the Bankruptcy Code's definition. According to the author of this article, the designation as single asset real estate substantially increased the difficulty faced by the debtors in maintaining their reorganization efforts, and has given lenders and their counsel a significant amount of comfort. However, the definition runs against the actual wording of the Bankruptcy Code, the intent underlying the SARE provisions, and the political winds. It should, and may well, be …

The Public Trust Doctrine And The Great Lakes Shores, Kenneth K. Kilbert

Cleveland State Law Review

The shores of the Great Lakes may look serene, but they are a battleground. Members of the public enjoy using the shores for fishing, boating, birding, or simply strolling along and taking in the scenic vistas. Repeatedly, however, owners of land ordering the Great Lakes (i.e., littoral owners),' armed with deeds indicating they own the shore to the water's edge or even lower, have tried to stop members of the public from using their property above the water's edge. The right to exclude others from your property, the littoral owners argue, is one of the most important sticks in the …

Stop The Beach Renourishment Stops Private Beachowners' Right To Exclude The Public, Kristen G. Juras, Sydney F. Ansbacher, Robert K. Lincoln

Faculty Law Review Articles

In this article, the authors examine the various measures implemented by state and local governments to enhance public access to and use of government-owned tidelands, streambeds, and lake shores and how, although not necessarily titled as such, many of these measures result, without payment of compensation, in an easement allowing public access to and use of private waterfront property.

Section I describes the rights of riparian property owners and the right of the public to use government-owned shores and tidelands, followed by a general overview of various state legislative and judicial responses designed to address the conflicts that arise when …

Equal Standing With States: Tribal Sovereignty And Standing After Massachusetts V. Epa, Joseph Mead, Nicholas Fromherz

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

In Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), the Supreme Court held that Massachusetts was entitled to "special solicitude" in the standing analysis because it was sovereign. As a result, Massachusetts passed the standing threshold in a global warming case where an ordinary litigant may have been stymied. The Supreme Court’s analysis raises an interesting question: Are Indian tribes—which have been considered sovereign entities since before the founding, and which hold lands facing heavy environmental pressure—entitled to "special solicitude" as well? We think they should be.

To make this argument, we begin by discussing standing basics; dissecting Massachusetts v. …

Is It All About The Money? Considering A Multi-Factor Test For Determining The Appropriateness Of Forced Partition Sales In North Carolina, Lawrence Anderson Moye Iv

Campbell Law Review

This Comment examines partition sales in North Carolina. First is a brief review of tenancy in common ownership and the dissolution remedy of partition. This is followed by a more detailed look into North Carolina's current partition sales statute and recent efforts to amend it. Arguments favoring and opposing the addition of a multi-factor test to the current statute will be discussed, as well as case analysis from three states whose courts consider non-economic factors when determining the appropriateness of ordering a partition sale. The conclusion critiques the arguments for and against the addition of a multi-factor test, and also …

Intent And Empirics: Race To The Subprime, Carol N. Brown

Law Faculty Publications

The United States’ history of racially discriminatory banking, housing, and property policies created a community of black Americans accustomed to exploitative financial services and vulnerable to victimization by subprime lenders. My thesis is that black borrowers are experiencing a new iteration of intentional housing discrimination in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; lenders identified a vulnerable 'emerging market' of black homeowners and borrowers and knowingly targeted them to receive subprime or predatory loan products when equally situated white borrowers were given superior, prime mortgage products. This Article explores how disparate lending practices coupled with banking deregulation undermined the Congressional push for …

Women And Subprime Lending: An Essay Advocating Self-Regulation Of The Mortgage Lending Industry,Symposium On Law As Transformative Agent: Thinking And Doing Law In New Categories, Carol N. Brown

Law Faculty Publications

The subsequent national mortgage foreclosure crisis that seemed almost 5 uncontrollable by 2007 ignited a mortgage-related financial crisis that affected the global market place. News media, business reports, government investigations, 6 regulatory inquiries, and citizen suits focused national attention on the housing crisis and the problems attending what soon came to be known as the “mortgage meltdown.” A dual mortgage market had emerged in which subprime lending 7 disproportionately affected minorities (particularly blacks and Hispanics), women, and the elderly.8 Evidence of the disparate impact felt by certain minority borrowers is abundant and the evidence of gender disparities in subprime lending …

Pendaftaran Hakmilik Tanah Selepas Tsunami Di Banda Aceh : Isu-Isu Yang Berbangkit Berkenaan Perlindungan Hakmilik., Afifuddin Manan

Student Works (2010-2019)

The earthquake and tsunami disaster that hit Acheh on December 24, 2004 had destroyed most of the records and files on land ownership. The disaster had created difficulties and brought about various conflicts in land administration and ownership. This dissertation aims to examine the procedure and legality of registration and the responsibility of the state in the protection of land ownership in the post tsunami era. The research revealed general problems relating to the protection of ownership of land post-tsunami, which include antinomy of law and improper actions of land registration officers. The antinomy of law and improper acts of …