PROPERTY
Law 504
University of MississippiSchool of Law
Fall 2009 – Section 2
MWF9:30-10:50p.m./Room 112
Professor Case
1.Assigned Text: The assigned text for this class is:
- Dukeminier, Krier, Alexander Schill, Property (Aspen, 6th ed. 2006)
2.TWEN: A TWEN (The West Education Network) site has been established for this course. Registration on the TWEN site is mandatory for all students in this course. You must register with an e-mail address from an active account that you check at least daily. The TWEN site will be the primary method for distribution of various handouts and other materials related to this course and also for announcements regarding assignments and class cancellations and make up dates. Failure to register on TWEN or failure to register with an e-mail address of an active and regularly monitored e-mail account may cause you to miss important information which may have significantly negative consequences for you.
3.Attendance: Regular and punctual class attendance is required. The classroom experience is a critical part of legal education and failure to regularly attend class will adversely affect the learning process and performance on the final examination. I strongly encourage you to attend all scheduled classes.
Attendance is taken at the beginning of each class by circulation of a roll chart to be initialed by each student to reflect his or her attendance at that particular class. It is the responsibility of each student to initial the roll chart to indicate his or her attendance at each particular class; any failure or neglect to do so is borne by the student. That is, a student is counted absent when failing to initial the roll chart at the proper time despite actual attendance at a particular class. Students are prohibited from initialing the roll chart on behalf of anyone other than him or herself. A student who is late to class – that is, not sitting in his or her seat at the time the professor starts the circulation of the roll chart – may not initial the roll chart for that day and will be considered absent for that day. Students absent from more than six (6) class meetings in a semester will not be allowed to take the final examination and will receive a failing grade in the course for the semester.
4.Class preparation and participation: I expect you to read all material assigned in advance of each class and be ready to discuss the material assigned for that day if called upon to do so. Class preparation and participation are not optional; they are required and are integral parts of the learning process. If you are unprepared for a particular class meeting, you may attend that class meeting without concern for being called upon to participate that day but in such case: (i) you must advise me in writing (e-mail is acceptable) prior to class, and (ii) you will be deemed constructively absent that day and thus precluded from initialing the roll sheet for that class (such absences counting toward the total number of absences triggering an automatic failing grade for the course). I will reduce a student’s final grade in the course by one step (e.g., from B+ to B) for each instance of inadequate class preparation during the semester.
A handout on “Class Preparation and Synthesis” authored by Professor Richard Wright of the Chicago-Kent College of Law is available on the TWEN site. Professor Wright’s discussion on class preparation methods and legal reasoning and critical analysis skills is excellent and I encourage you to read it carefully. At a minimum, “being prepared” means that you know: (i) the relevant facts of each principal case (as opposed to cases cited in the notes following each principal case) in the assigned materials; (ii) the procedural history and disposition of the case leading up to the court’s opinion; (iii) the result or outcome of the opinion [which, together with the relevant facts, constitutes the “holding” of the case in its narrowest form]; (iv) the substantive legal issue(s) in the case; and (v) the rationale or reasoning provided by the court for the result it reached. To be well acquainted with a case, you will be required to read it more than once (and perhaps more than twice). Briefing cases is essential for first-year law students. Again, I refer you to the “Class Preparation and Synthesis” handout for an excellent discussion on the concept of “briefing” cases.
5.Professional conduct: Law school is the beginning stage of a career imposing substantial ethical and professional responsibilities upon its members. Thus, professionally responsible behavior should be the norm in law school. In my view, unprofessional conduct includes the following: (i) failure to arrive on time for class so that you are not in your seat and prepared to begin at the scheduled starting time; (ii) failure to prepare as required for each such scheduled class to the best of your abilities; (iii) departing and reentering the classroom after class has begun (unless for good cause for which an explanation is required), and (iv) otherwise conducting yourself in a manner during class that is significantly disruptive or disrespectful either to the professor or your fellow classmates. None of these forms of behavior are tolerated of lawyers by judges, fellow lawyers, or clients during court appearances, scheduled conferences, or as part of a professional work environment. Similarly, such behavior is not tolerable within the law school environment.
Unprofessional behavior also includes misuse of technology during class time. Do not bring a cell phone or other electronic communications device into the classroom unless it is turned off. Laptop computers are permitted only for the purpose of taking notes. They may not be used during class time to surf the Internet, play games, check or send e-mail, or send instant messages in class. Sending answers to questions posed in class to classmates in the form of instant messages is not only unprofessional but also a form of academic dishonesty.
6.Final Exam: The final exam will be given at 1:00 p.m. on December 7, 2009 (Monday) in Room 112. This is a closed book exam. That means that students may not utilize any written or other course content materials of any type during the examination. You are further not permitted to have in your possession at any point during the examination any cell phone, text messaging, picture phone or other communications device of any kind whatsoever. Breach of any of these prohibitionswill result in a failing grade on the examination and may result in other adverse consequences consistent with the policies of the law school and the university.
7.Grading: Your final grade is based solely upon your performance on the final exam, unless also affected by inadequate class preparation as discussed above.
8.DisabilityServices: Any student who feels s/he may need academic accommodations or access accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability should contact the Office of Student Disability Services (234 Martindale Center) during the first week of classes. The centeris open Monday through Friday from 8:00am until 5:00pm. Messages may be left on theoffice's voice mail system when the office is closed.
Phone:(662) 915-7128
TTY: (662) 915 7907
Fax: (662) 915-5972
E-mail:
Disability Services is the official office to assist students through the process of disability verification and coordination of appropriate and reasonable accommodations. Law students currently registered with Disability Services should obtain a new accommodation memo each fall semester.If you have a disability for which you are considering an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Cary Lee Cluck, , 515 Lamar Law Center, (662) 915-6815, as early as possible in the semester.
9.Office: My office is located in Room 543. I am available to answer questions you may have about class or other law school or professional issues. You may ask questions via e-mail if you wish () or, if you prefer, come by my office.
Syllabus
Property – Fall 2009
Professor Case
The indicated readings are from the casebook, Dukeminier et al., Property (6th ed. 2006). For each class, the default rule is to stay 15 pages ahead in the materials from where we stopped at the end of the previous class. (If reading 15 pages ahead ends in the middle of a principal case, then read to the end of that case.) This default rule may be adjusted either upwards or downwards as the semester progresses. When possible, I will endeavor to make more specific statements about coverage for upcoming classes either in class or on TWEN.
I.Possession: Acquisition of Property by Find, Adverse Possession, and Gift
- Acquisition by Find: 95-112
2.Acquisition by Adverse Possession: 112-143
3.Acquisition by Gift: 157-172
II.The System of Estates (Leaseholds Aside)
- Possessory Estates
1.Up from Feudalism: 173-181
- The Fee Simple: 181-186
3.The Fee Tail: 186-189
4.The Life Estate: 189-206
- Leasehold Estates: 206
6.Defeasible Estates: 206-224
- Future Interests
1.Introduction: 225-226
2.Future Interests in the Transferor: 226-227
- Future Interests in Transferees: 227-239
4.The Trust: 239-240
5.Rules Furthering Marketability by Destroying Contingent
Future Interests: 240-274
C.Co-ownership
1.Common Law Concurrent Interests: 275-310
2.Tenants by the Entirety: 310-320
III.Leaseholds: The Law of Landlord and Tenant
- The Leasehold Estates: 363-373
B.The Lease: 373-376
C.Delivery of Possession: 384-388
D.Subleases and Assignments: 388-402
E.The Tenant Who Defaults: 403-421
F.Duties, Rights, and Remedies: 421-444
IV.Transfers of Land
A.The Land Transaction
1.Introduction: 453-463
2.The Contract of Sale: 472-484
3.The Deed: 513-541
B.Title Assurance
1.The Recording System: 559-612
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