Ilya Somin
Professor of Law
George Mason University School of Law
Office: Rm. 322
Ph: 703-993-8069
isomin@gmu.edu
Office Hours: Monday 4-6 PM, or by
appointment.
Property
Fall 2013
Course Time and Location
Monday and Wednesday, 2:00-3:50 PM
Room 120
Reading Materials
Textbooks: Jesse Dukeminier, Mark Krier, Gregory Alexander, & Michael Schill, Property,
(Aspen, 2010), 7th ed. (listed as “DK” in syllabus); Robert Ellickson, Carol Rose, and Bruce
Ackerman, Perspectives on Property Law, (Aspen 2002), 3d ed. (listed as “ERA”). Available at
GMU Book Store.
Several items on the reading list are available on TWEN, under the “Course Materials” heading.
Some can also be downloaded on Westlaw and Lexis, if you prefer.
Grading
Grades will be based on a combination of the final exam and class participation. Specifically, the
course grade will be the final exam grade plus a bonus for good class participation worth up to as
much as about one half of a letter grade on your final grade for the semester.
The final exam will consist of essay questions and short identification questions. Further details
of the final exam will be announced later in the semester. Class participation will be assessed on
a combination of quantity and quality. Further details on class participation and final exam
grading will be provided during the course of the semester.
Assignments
Although I will try to stick to the schedule, we may occasionally fall behind. In such an
unfortunate event, we will begin the next class with the next case or other reading on the
syllabus, unless I say otherwise.
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August 19: Introduction to Property
Richard Posner, “The Economic Theory of Property Rights,” ERA 54-63
Margaret Jane Radin, “Property and Personhood,” ERA 8-20
Harold Demsetz, “Toward a Theory of Property Rights” DK 39-46
August 21: Acquisition by Conquest and Capture
Johnson v. M’Intosh DK 3-18
Pierson v. Post DK 18-25
Ghen v. Rich DK 26-28
Keeble v. Hickeringill DK 30-31
August 26: Acquisition by Creation/Tragedy of the Commons
International News Service v. AP DK 56-60
Cheney Bros. v. Doris Silk Corp. DK 61-62
Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” ERA 119-29
Michael Heller & Rebecca Eisenberg, “Can Patents Deter Innovation? The Anticommons in
Biomedical Research,” ERA 159-69
August 28: Acquisition by Find
Armory v. Delamirie DK 98-101
Hannah v. Peel DK 101-107
McAvoy v. Medina DK 107-108
Notes: 108-115
Popov v. Hayashi, 2002 WL 31833731 (Cal. Superior Court 2002) (Westlaw/TWEN).
September 4: Acquisition by Adverse Possession/Acquisition by Gift
Background on Adverse Possession DK 116-21
Mannillo v. Gorski DK 136-42
Howard v. Kunto DK 142-47
Newman v. Bost DK 167-73
Gruen v. Gruen DK 174-80
September 9: The Right to Exclude/Theory of Property Rules
Jacque v. Steenberg Homes DK 89-90
State v. Shack DK 90-95 (including notes)
Guido Calabresi & A. Douglas Melamed, “Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Inalienability
Rules: One View of the Cathedral,” ERA 233-240
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September 11: Property Rights in the Body and Inalienability Rules
Moore v. Regents of the Univ. of California DK 70-87
Richard Epstein, “Altruism and Valuable Consideration in Organ Transplantation,”
(Handout/TWEN).
Leon Kass, “Organs for Sale? – Propriety, Property, and the Price of Progress.”
(Handout/TWEN)
September 16: Estates and Fee Simple/Coase Theorem
R.H. Coase, “The Problem of Social Cost,” ERA 200-209
Robert Ellickson, “Order Without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes.” ERA 210-21
History and origins of estates DK 185-201
White v. Brown DK 202-208
September 18: Life Estates and Defeasible Estates
Baker v. Weedon DK 210-17
Defeasible Estates DK 222-25
Mahrenholtz v. Cty. Bd. of School Trustees DK 226-33
September 23: Future Interests and Trusts/ Concurrent Interests I
Future Interests DK 253-270
Rule Against Perpetuities and its Reform DK 285-289, 305-309
Trusts DK 273-275
Jesse Dukeminier & Mark Krier, “The Rise of the Perpetual Trust” DK 310-315
NOTE: The traditional rule against perpetuities will NOT be on the final exam.
Background to concurrent interests DK 319-22
September 25: Concurrent Interests II
Riddle v. Harmon DK 324-29
Delfino v. Vealencis DK 338-43
Spiller v. Mackereth DK 348-50
Swartzbaugh v. Sampson DK 351-56
September 30: Landlord-Tenant Law I - Estates and Delivery of Possession
Types of Leasehold Estates DK 421-23
The Lease DK 428-31
Garner v. Gerrish DK 423-26
Hannan v. Dush DK 438-41
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October 2: Landlord-Tenant Law II - Discrimination and sublet/assignment
Fair Housing legislation DK 431-38
Ernst v. Conditt DK 442-48
Kendall v. Ernest Pestana, Inc. DK 450-56
October 7: Landlord-Tenant Law III - Landlord Remedies and Tenants’ Rights
Berg v. Wiley DK 460-65
Sommer v. Kridel DK 469-76
Landlord Remedies DK 479-481, 505-508
October 9: Tenant Rights/Statute of Frauds
Hilder v. St. Peter DK 493-503
Richard Posner, “Minimum Housing Standards,” ERA 404-409
Bruce Ackerman, “Regulating Slum Housing Markets on Behalf of the Poor” ERA 409-15.
Land Transactions DK 519-20
The Statute of Frauds DK 541-42
October 15 (Tuesday observing Monday schedule): The Contract of Sale
Hickey v. Green DK 542-47
Lohmeyer v. Bower DK 548-52
Stambovsky v. Ackley DK 553-57
Lempke v. Dagenais DK 564-72
October 16: The Deed
The Deed DK 585-90
Brown v. Lober DK 591-93
Frimberger v. Anzelloti DK 594-99
Sweeney, Admin. v. Sweeney DK 606-09
October 21: Mortgages
Introduction to Mortgages DK 616-620
Murphy v. Financial Development Corp. DK 621-26
Bean v. Walker DK 640-44
“The Mortgage Crisis and the Great Recession,” Excerpt from Dukeminier, Krier, Alexander, &
Schill, Property (8th Ed., forthcoming), ch. 7 (TWEN)
John H. Makin, “A Government Failure, Not a Market Failure,” Wall Street Journal, July 1,
2009, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124631486277570583.html
John Atlas and Peter Dreier, “The Conservative Origins of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis,”
American Prospect, Dec. 18, 2007, available at
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http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_conservative_origins_of_the_subprime_mortgag
e_crisis
October 23: Recording Systems/Easements I
Introduction to Recording DK 645-47
Types of Recording Acts DK 667-70
Bd. of Education v. Hughes DK 677-79
Guillette v. Daly Dry Wall DK 680-84
Historical Background of Easements DK 763-68
October 28: Easements II
Willard v. First Church of Christ, Scientist DK 768-72
Licenses DK 773
Holbrook v. Taylor DK 774-77
Van Sandt v. Royster DK 779-86
Othen v. Rosier DK 786-93
Brown v. Voss DK 820-26
October 30: Real Covenants and Servitudes
Covenants Running with the Land DK 847-53
Tulk v. Moxhay DK 854-58
Sanborn v. McLean DK 859-64
Neponsit Property Owners Association v. Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank DK 864-76
Shelley v. Kraemer DK 876-82
November 4: Common Interest Communities
Common Interest Communities DK 896-899
Richard Epstein, “Of Covenants and Constitutions,” ERA 423-36
Nahrstedt v. Lakeside Village Condominium DK 900-911
Mulligan v. Panther Valley Property Owners Assn. DK 920-22
November 6: Land Use Controls
History of zoning DK 925-30
Euclid v. Amber Realty DK 930-40
Structure of zoning laws DK 941-44
Northwestern Distributors, Inc. v. Zoning Hearing Bd. DK 945-53
November 11: Flexibility in Zoning/Exclusionary Zoning
Variances and Special Exceptions DK 954-55
Commons v. Westwood Zoning Bd. DK 955-58
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Cope v. Town of Brunswick DK 959-62
Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mt. Laurel DK 1037-1060
“Additional Material on Mt. Laurel and Exclusionary Zoning,” Excerpt from Dukeminier, Krier,
Alexander, & Schill, Property (8th Ed., forthcoming), ch. 11 (TWEN)
November 13: Takings I - Public Use.
Intro to Takings DK 1061-64
City of Oakland v. Oakland Raiders, 646 P.2d 835 (Cal. 1982) (TWEN)
Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954) (TWEN).
Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff 467 U.S. 229 (1984) (TWEN)
November 18: Takings I - Public Use (Continued)
Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005) (TWEN) (NOTE: Do not read the version in
DK instead, which omits some important opinions)
Discussion of Kelo and its Aftermath DK 1073-80
City of Norwood v. Horney, 853 N.E.2d 1115 (Ohio 2006) (read 1122-42 only).
Goldstein v. N.Y. State Urban Dev. Corp., 921 N.E.2d 164 (N.Y. 2009)
November 20: Takings II: What is a Taking?/ Discussion of Final Exam.
Physical Occupations and Regulatory Takings DK 1081-82
Loretto v. Teleprompter DK 1082-94
Pennsylvania Coal v. Mahon DK 1103-1113
Frank Michelman, “Property, Utility, and Fairness: Comments on the Ethical Foundations of Just
Compensation Law,” ERA 480-501
November 21 (Thursday observing Monday schedule): Takings II/Conclusion – End of
Class.
Penn Central Transp. Co. v. City of New York DK 1113-30
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council DK 1131-48
Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency DK 1158-66
Remedies for Takings Violations DK 1166-70
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