Property Law and Real Estate Commons^™

What If? Using Medicare Regulations To Control And Commercialize Rainwater Harvesting, C. Trey Scott

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Article will examine how rainwater harvesting in Texas would look if applied to a structure for rainwater governance similar to the structure of Medicare governance. Section II addresses the reasons why rainwater harvesting must be considered a necessity. Next, Section III will provide an overview of the applicable Medicare regulations that will later be reappropriated and rewritten for rainwater harvesting. Section IV will apply the discussed Medicare structure to rainwater harvesting. Finally, Section V will provide a closing answer to what if we applied the Medicare structure to rainwater harvesting.

A Prudential Take On A Prudential Takings Doctrine, Katherine Mims Crocker

Michigan Law Review Online

The Supreme Court is set to decide a case requesting reconsideration of a doctrine that has long bedeviled constitutional litigants and commentators. The case is Knick v. Township of Scott, and the doctrine is the “ripeness” rule from Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank that plaintiffs seeking to raise takings claims under the Fifth Amendment must pursue state-created remedies first—the so-called “compensation prong” (as distinguished from a separate “takings prong”). This Essay argues that to put the compensation prong in the best light possible, the Court should view the requirement as a “prudential” rule rather than (as it …

New Water For Water Dispute Resolution, Rhett B. Larson

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Water scarcity often leads to water disputes. New water supplies—such as bulk water imports, desalination, cloud seeding, or increased stream flows from improved forest management—can mitigate water scarcity and thus help avoid water disputes. However, new water supplies can also aggravate water disputes if not developed in concert with legal reforms. This Article evaluates the role of new water in two cases of water disputes in arid regions and proposes legal reforms to promote new water as a means of water dispute resolution. The first case is the adjudication of water rights in the Gila River basin in Arizona. Improved …

Poke´Mon Go: Emerging Liability Arising From Virtual Trespass For Augmented Reality Applications, Travis Alley

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Article focuses on various types of trespass and the challenges that augmented reality technology presents to the parties involved. Section II lays out a broad overview of augmented reality, its history, and the concept of Pok ´emon Go. Section III addresses evolution trespass law in the United States and how it is applied in cases of physical and electronic intrusions. Section III also discusses nuisance briefly, as it can often interrelate to trespass theories. Section IV then analyzes how courts might interpret trespass laws for augmented reality applications and the forms of liability each party may face. The solution …

Regulate Or Be Regulated: Why Professional Landmen Should Be Proactive In Protecting The Integrity Of Their Occupation, Brian J. Steinocher

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

In most states, the landman profession is unregulated and free to define itself. Work performed by landmen often flirts with the practice of law, but under Texas law much of the work that landmen perform is excepted from the unlicensed practice of law. Historically, the American Association of Professional Landmen (“AAPL”) has been influential in guaranteeing that this exception stays available to landmen all over the United States and that landmen are not subject to licensing requirements in the states they work in. In light of the recent, unsuccessful attempt by the Texas legislature to regulate landmen, this Article will …

Clarifying The Scope Of Texas’S Cross-Jurisdictional Tolling Rule: An Exception For Putative Class Members With Property-Related Claims, Andrew W. Bell

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Comment seeks to clarify the scope of cross-jurisdictional tolling in Texas. Although both Texas and federal courts interpreting Texas law have addressed this issue, no Texas court has specifically addressed whether putative members of a class action lawsuit—which was filed in a federal court located in Texas and that asserts Texas property-related claims—can rely on the class action lawsuit to toll the statute of limitations applicable to their claims. Part I of this Comment provides a brief history of the class action tolling doctrine, specifically describing American Pipe and its progeny. Part II discusses recent Texas case law decisions …

Smart Growth Through Tiny Homes: Incentivizing Freedom Of Housing, A. Robin Donnelly

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Tiny Homes are an environmentally friendly housing option popping up across the United States. Tiny Homes have a minimal environmental footprint due to their small size and eco-friendly design. As such, Tiny Homes could address several of the Environmental Protection Agency’s city development goals. The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has created a Smart Growth program that provides financial assistance to cities seeking to implement greener practices throughout city planning. Tiny Home Eco communities could become a popular Smart Growth development plan. Unfortunately, cities have not welcomed Tiny Homes, and this alternative green housing scheme has remained undeveloped. This Comment is …

Understanding The Complicated Landscape Of Civil War Monuments, Jessica Owley, Jess Phelps

Indiana Law Journal

This essay examines the controversy regarding confederate monuments and attempts to contextualize this debate within the current preservation framework. While much attention has been paid to this topic over the past year, particularly with regard to “public” monuments, such discussion has generally failed to recognize the varied and complicated property law layers involved—which can fundamentally change the legal requirements for modification or removal. We propose a spectrum or framework for assessing these resources ranging from public to private, and we explore the messy space in-between these poles where most monuments actually fall. By highlighting these categories, we provide an initial …

Licenses And The Property/Contract Interface, Christina M. Mulligan

Indiana Law Journal

INTRODUCTION

I. THE ROLE OF FORMAL CATEGORIES

II. THE COMPOUND-PAUCITAL LICENSE

A. IDIOSYNCRASY AND INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES

B. REGULATING LICENSES

1. THE NOTICE STRATEGY

2. THE PROTECTION STRATEGY

III. RESTRAINTS ON ALIENATION AND USE

A. HARMS CAUSED BY RESTRAINTS ON ALIENATION AND USE

1. INCREASED INFORMATION COSTS

2.WASTE

B. LIMITING HARM WITH PROTECTIVE STANDARDIZATION

1. THE LICENSE V. SALE DISTINCTION IN PRACTICE

2.WHAT IS A DIGITAL SALE?

3. FAVORING SALES WITHOUT LOSING FLEXIBILITY

C. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN IN REM AND IN PERSONAM LICENSE TERMS

IV. LICENSE REVOCATION

A. TIMING REVOCATION

B. BENEFITS AND CONCERNS

1.MANAGING SHARED RESOURCES VS. UPSET RELIANCE INTERESTS

2. …

A Guide To Understanding And Addressing Vacant Property In The City Of St. Louis, Dana M. Malkus

Faculty White Papers

The City of St. Louis has a serious vacant property challenge. Since the population peak in 1950, the City has experienced a 63% decline in population and now has one of the highest rates of vacancy in the nation. The City has approximately 25,000 vacant properties. Approximately 12,000 of these are owned by the Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) or other public agencies, which means that approximately 13,000 are privately owned. Most of those vacant properties are concentrated in the north and southeast portions of the City. For a city of its size, the City has "an extremely large" number of …

No Brakes: Loan Acceleration And Diminishing Foreclosure Defenses, Eric A. Zacks, Dustin A. Zacks

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Israel's Absentee Property Law: When Is Democratic Failure Necessary?, Bria Smith

CMC Senior Theses

This paper defends Israel's expropriation of property under the Absentee Property Law within the state’s pre-1967 borders on constitutional grounds, but holds that the Law’s increased use in the region of East Jerusalem is invalid under Israel's constitutional scheme. This distinction turns upon the state’s application of the Law for necessary purposes. I hold that Israel’s justification for breaching human rights explicitly protected must be based on the state’s need to preserve its foundational ideology and national purpose in times of extra-normal circumstances. Israel may act undemocratically only to the extent imperative to preserve the Jewish nation and the existence …

Why Less Property Is More: Inclusion, Dispossession, & Subjective Well-Being, David Fagundes

Faculty Articles

The twin notions of exclusion and possession dominate our cultural and legal conceptions of property. This Article uses the lens of hedonics—the emergent science of happiness—to make a case for the less appreciated notions of inclusion and dispossession. Evidence from this new field shows that owners maximize their welfare, not when they amass land and chattels and keep others away from them, but when they pursue the polar-opposite strategies of inclusion and dispossession, such as sharing their property, donating it to charity, or giving it away. This Article begins its defense of inclusion and dispossession by providing background about the …

Exclusionary Megacities, Wendell Pritchett, Shitong Qiao

Faculty Scholarship

Human beings should live in places where they are most productive, and megacities, where information, innovation, and opportunities congregate, would be the optimal choice. Yet megacities in both China and the United States are excluding people by limiting the housing supply. Why, despite their many differences, is the same type of exclusion happening in both Chinese and U.S. megacities? Urban law and policy scholars argue that Not-In-My-Back-Yard (“NIMBY”) homeowners are taking over megacities in the U.S. and hindering housing development. They pin their hopes on an efficient growth machine that makes sure “above all, nothing gets in the way of …

Property: Preoccupation With Occupancy: Defining "Residential Tenant" Under Minnesota Statute Section 504b.375—Cocchiarella V. Driggs, Lisa Cline

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Defining “Home” Through Homestead Laws,, Hannah Haksgaard

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Societal Impacts Of Climate Anomalies During The Past 50,000 Years And Their Implications For Solastalgia And Adaptation To Future Climate Change, Edward P. Richards

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Federal Law Of Property: The Case Of Inheritance Disclaimers And Tenancy By The Entireties, David Gray Carlson

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Getting Local Governments Where They Need To Go Without Taking Taxpayers For A Ride: "Cabs," Why They Are Used, And What Can Be Done To Prevent Their Misuse, Heather G. White

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Homestead: A (New) Hope, Thomas Simmons

Faculty Publications

A finely-tuned balancing of the free functioning of private and commercial enterprise against a family's interests in shelter and a home is at the heart of homestead exemption laws. In South Dakota's history, this balancing act has been displayed over a 145-year history in the form of legislative enactments, judicial decisions, and referendums. This history illuminates the expression of values against the dynamics of rule-making. A previously published article in this review, Prequel to Homestead, outlined South Dakota's homestead laws under the contemporary statutory framework and also considered the constitutional history of homestead laws leading up to South Dakota's …