PROPERTY

Spring Term 1999Robert Ellickson

Assignment Sheet

Unmodified numbers refer to pages in DUKEMINIER & KRIER, PROPERTY (4th ed.). Numbers preceded by "SM" signify pages in the duplicated supplementary materials, which follow this assignment sheet. "R" indicates pages in the reader, ELLICKSON, ROSE & ACKERMAN, PERSPECTIVES ON PROPERTY LAW (2d ed.).

  1. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND ITS ALTERNATIVES

    1. Property in the Fruits of Labor
      1. Hunters, Finders, and Other Possessors: 19-36; 99-103; 110-116; Rxi-Rxiii (Preface); R172-R181 (Sugden on Possession); R20-R37 (Rose on Storytelling)

      2. Slavery: SM 1-13; R125-R131 (Barzel on Slavery); R1-R8 (Goffman on Asylums)

      3. Civic Duties: SM 14-24

      4. Body Parts: 66(top)-86(top); R336-R359 (Radin on Market-Inalienability; Hirschman on Markets)

    2. Property in Natural Resources: The Problem of the Commons
      1. Introduction: R132-R148 (Hardin on the Commons; Acheson on Lobster Gangs); 40-59

      2. Oil and Gas: 36-38; SM 25-27

      3. Water: 38-40; SM 28-32

      4. Land: R37-R45 (Blackstone on Origins of Property; R158-R171 (Ellickson on Land Regimes); 3-19; R181-R190 (Rose on Origin of Property); SM 33-38; 814(note 5)-823

    3. Intellectual Property: 59-66(top)

    4. Social, Economic, and Political Consequences of Property Regimes
      1. Self-Determination: R8-R20 (Radin on Personhood)

      2. Prosperity: R45-R71 (Posner on Efficiency; Kennedy & Michelman on Efficiency)

      3. Diffusion of Political Power: R71-R99 (Friedman on Freedom; Sunstein on Constitutionalism)

      4. Distributive Justice: R99-R125 (Rawls on Justice; Wilson on Equality; Ellickson on Welfare Rights)

  2. THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WHO OWN LAND IN FEE SIMPLE
    1. The Model of Absolute Rights Within One's Boundaries: SM 39-40 (SM 41-44 are assigned in conjunction with topic IIIA)

    2. Encroachments: SM 45-48; R200-R260 (Coase on Social Cost; Cooter on Coase; Ellickson on Shasta County; Knetsch on Endowment Effects; Calabresi & Melamed on Property Rules; Hoppe on License to Steal); SM 49-57

    3. Limitations on Rights to Exclude: 86(top)-97; SM 58-68; R261-R274 (Merrill on Trespass)

    4. Limitations on Rights to Destroy: SM 69-72

    5. The Risk of Adverse Possession: 117-153; 165(note 3)-168; R191-R199 (Merrill on Adverse Possession)

  3. SHARED OWNERSHIP
    1. Ownership Divided into Time Periods: Estates in Land, Future Interests:
      185-205; SM 41-44; 210-219; 224-231; 245-263 (thru Example 7); 272-273; 275-276; 282(bottom)-286 (thru Example 21); R360-R368 (Posner on Divided Ownership); 291-294; 299-304; 311-319 (skip Jee & Brown problems)
      (This difficult material currently is relevant mainly to attorneys who specialize in wills and trusts. In light of other priorities, I have edited out much of the historical detail and technical complexity. You should strive to become comfortable with the basic vocabulary and to learn current law. On library reserve are two hornbooks that may be of help: JOHN CRIBBET & CORWIN JOHNSON, PRINCIPLES OF THE LAW OF PROPERTY (3d ed. 1989); CORNELIUS MOYNIHAN, INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW OF REAL PROPERTY (1st ed. 1962, 2d ed. 1988).)
    2. Concurrent and Marital Ownership:
      321-337(bottom); SM 73-77; 651-657; SM v-ix (assigned Title Search Project);
      R320-R336 (Rose on Crystals and Mud); 340-360; SM 77-83; 360-386;
      393(bottom)-401; R302-R312 (Papanek on Women's Shares)

    3. Landlord and Tenant
      1. Types of Leaseholds: 417-434; R368-R373 (Allen & Lueck on Farm Leases); R313-R320 (Ayres & Gertner on Default Rules); skim SM 84-93 (provisions of Conn. Rev. Stats., specific sections of which are assigned below); §§ 47a-3 to 47a-4 (SM 84-85); 459-464(middle)

      2. Selection of tenants: 434-459; R470-R487 (Muth and Schelling on Housing Segregation)

      3. A Tenant's Early Exit as a Self-Help Remedy
        1. By assignment or subletting: 470-482
        2. By abandonment: 494(bottom)-504; § 47a-11a (SM 87)

      4. A Landlord's Remedies: 484-494(thru Note); SM 94-102; SM x (instructions for recommended visit to Housing Court)

      5. Game-Theoretic and Sociological Perspectives on Security Deposits and the Landlord-Tenant Relationship: 532-534; 504-507(bottom); § 47a-21 (SM 103-105); R275-R302 (Axelrod on Tit-for-Tat; Hoffman & Spitzer on Distributive Justice)

      6. The Dynamics of Rental Housing: R374-R392 (Welfeld on Landlords; Weicher on Housing Policy)

      7. The Regulation of Landlords
        1. Habitability of the premises: 508-531; §§ 47a-4a to 47a-8, §§ 47a-12 to 47a-14h & §§ 47a-20 to 47a-20a (SM 85-93); R393-R403 (Posner and Ackerman on Housing Codes); SM 106-108
        2. Rent control: 534-540(bottom); R404-R423 (Arnott and Radin on Rent Control); SM 109-110

      8. Housing Assistance and Welfare Reform: 540(bottom)-546; SM 111-120

  4. LAND-USE CONTROLS
    1. Neighbors' Common Law Rights: Nuisance Law:
      739-778; R532-R547 (Schelling on Emission Fees). Because several law-school courses address nuisance law, this material will receive abbreviated treatment in class.

    2. Tailored Arrangements Among Neighbors: Easements and Covenants
      1. Easements: 779-814(thru note 4); 830-831(note 1); 832-842

      2. Covenants: 856("The most noteworthy. . .")-872; 881(note 2)-885(bottom); 902(top)-907

      3. Termination: 842-853(bottom); 907-919

      4. Common Interest Communities: 919-940; R424-R439 (Epstein on Homeowners Associations)

    3. Public Regulation of Land Use
      1. Introduction to Zoning: 941-973(thru note 3)

      2. Takings: 1123-1180(bottom); 1198-1216; R487-R532 (Michelman and Fischel & Shapiro on Takings)

      3. Zoning Changes and Dealmaking: 988-1004; 1009-1010

      4. Government Exactions from Developers: 1010-1011(bottom); 1181-98; SM 121-122

      5. Exclusionary Zoning and Growth Controls: 1061-1089; R457-R470 (Fischel on Growth Controls); 1089-1099; R439-R456 (Cappel on Pre-Zoning New Haven)

    4. Eminent Domain: 1101-1123