Hot News Doctrine
All of the following conditions must be met:
Their process of information collection involves significant expenditures.
The collected information is time sensitive.
A defendant “free rides” on the collected material.
The “freeriding” party directly competes with the plaintiff’s market.
The “freeriding” is likely to diminish incentives to collect information in a timely manner.
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Hot News Doctrine | All of the following conditions must be met: Their process of information collection involves significant expenditures. The collected information is time sensitive. A defendant “free rides” on the collected material. The “freeriding” party directly competes with the plaintiff’s market. The “freeriding” is likely to diminish incentives to collect information in a timely manner. |
| The Bundle of Sticks | Property ownership consists of these rights: The right to use The right to sell The right to give away The right to abandon The right to destroy The right to exclude |
| Coase Theorem | When transaction costs are 0, private bargaining between two parties is far more efficient than going through court. |
| Abandoned Property | An owner of personal property who seeks to abandon it must intend to relinquish all interests in the property with no intention that the property be acquired by any particular person and undertake voluntary action to that end. Real Property cannot be abandoned. |
| Lost vs. Mislaid | Lost means that you dropped it somewhere. It goes to the original owner, then the finder. Mislead means that you put it somewhere and forgot to pick it up. It goes to the original owner, then the owner of the place where it was left. |
| Adverse Possession Conditions | An entry that is actual and exclusive, open and notorious, continuous for the statutory period, and adverse and under a claim of right. |
| Claim of Right Standards | Objective Standard Good Faith Standard Aggressive Trespass Standard |
| Color of Title | There is an invalid document saying that someone should own something. This can benefit an adverse possessor. |
| Adverse Possession of Personal Property Rules | Under the Time of Conversion Rule, the statute of limitations begins to run at the time the conversion occurred. Under the Time of Demand Rule, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the true owner makes a demand for the return of the property and the demand is refused. Under the Adverse Possession Rule, adopted by the Appellate Division, a cause of action accrues when the possession by the defendant “assumes the characteristic elements of adverse possession.” Under the Discovery Rule articulated by the NJ Supreme Court, O’Keefe’s cause of action accrues when the original owner knew or reasonably should have known of the cause of action through the exercise of due diligence. |
| Elements of a Gift | Intent to give the gift, Delivery of the gift (physical, constructive, or symbolic), and Acceptance of the gift. If the gift was made in a will, a witness is required. Conditional gifts do not count as gifts with the exception of wedding rings. |
| Gifts Causa Mortis | A gift made in contemplation of and in expectation of immediate, approaching death is a valid substitute for a will. |
| Term of Years | A tenancy that is for a fixed period of time. It has to have a fixed start and end date. |
| Periodic Tenancy | A tenancy that has a fixed duration. Parties give notice when they are going to arrive or leave. The period is a month for a “month to month” lease, 6 months for a “year to year,” and a week for a “week to week.” |
| Tenancy at Will | Leaseholds that do not have a fixed duration and which can be terminated at will by either party. No notice is required to terminate this arrangement. |
| Subleases vs. Assignments | Sublease: Only part of the remaining term of a lease is given to someone else. Assignment: The rest of the remaining term on a lease is given to someone else. |
| 3rd Party Beneficiary Theory | Third parties who are advantaged by a contract but are not directly a part of that contract can enforce the aforementioned contract. |
| Factors used to Determine whether there is a Legitimate Reason to prevent an Assignment | The financial status of the proposed assignee. The sustainability and legality of the proposed use(s). The future business prospects of the proposed use(s). Tenant “mix”. Plans for potential alteration of the premises. |
| Duties of a Landlord | Duty to maintain common areas Duty to warn tenant of latent defects Duty to complete volunteered repairs with reasonable care Duty to, if the space is leased for a public use, be liable for tort based injuries. Duty to prevent tort-based injuries as a result of defects. |
| Constructive Eviction | This is when a place becomes unlivable due to the some action by a landlord (that isn't intended to exclude the tenant from part of the property). This only applies if the tenant actually leaves. |
| Leasehold | A present possessory estate that grants: A lessee (or tenant) possession of property for a specified period of time; and A lessor (or landlord) a reversion that permits the landlord to come into possession of the property upon the termination of the lease. |
| Fee Simple | A present possessory estate that has the potential to endure forever. |
| Life Estate | A present possessory estate measured by a person’s life. |
| Determinable Property Interest | A property interest that gives the original owner the right of reverter. This means that the interest automatically expires if a condition is met. Usually includes the language "so long as" |
| Property Interest Subject to Condition Subsequent | A property interest that gives the original owner the right of reentry. This means that original owner can take back the property interest if a condition is met, but the original owner must act to take the property back. Usually includes the language "but if" Some states put a limit on how long an original owner can wait to reenter the property after the condition is breached. This happens if a condition is violated. |
| Property Interest Subject to Executory Limitation | A property interest that gives the a third party an executory interest. This means that the the thrid party automatically gets the property if a condition is met. This interest cannot happen in a life estate. |
| Vested Remainder | A remainder which is guaranteed to occur and with a known recipient. |
| Indefeasibly Vested Remainder | A vested remainder which is guaranteed to go to a specific person. |
| Vested Remainder subject to Divestment. | A vested remainder which could go to another person if a condition is met. |
| Vested Remainder subject to Open. | A vested remainder that is to a set of people the size of which could potentially increase. |
| Contingent Remainder | A remainder in an unascertained person and/or with a specified event or condition required. These are inherently subject to open. This happens if a condition is not currently met. |
| Shifting Executory Interest | A future interest in a third party grantee that cuts off a second party grantee's estate at a while it is in their possession. This happens when a condition is violated. |
| Springing Executory Interest | A future interest in a third party grantee that springs out of the grantor's estate at a later time instead of taking over from the second party grantee. This happens when a condition is not met. |
| Reversion vs. Possibility of Reverter | Reversion: The life estate one Possibility of Reverter: The fee simple one |
| Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP) | Go through 3 Steps: (1) Is the interest type subject to rap? (Vested Remainder Subject to Open, Contingent Remainder, or Executory Interest) (2) Who is the life in being? (There can be more than one life in being at any given time) (3) after the last life in being dies, will the gift be guaranteed to be transferred within the next 21 years (inclusive)? |
| Cy Pres | When a court changes an agreement that violated RAP to make it not violate RAP |
| Wait and See | This is when courts don't do anything about an agreement that violates RAP and hope it sorts itself out before a preset time period (assume 90 years). The wait and see period begins |
| Definition of Nuisance | Nuisance is a substantial non-trespassory interference with someone else’s use and enjoyment of land. |
| Nuisance Jost Test | Threshold Test If the threshold of something reasonably being a nuisance is passed, there is a nuisance; otherwise, there is not. |
| Nuisance Restatements Test | Balancing Test Court must consider the injury to the defendant and the public caused by granting the injunction as well as the injury to the complainant if the injunction is denied. |
| Easement Appurtenant | Attached to the land and benefits one property while burdening another |
| Easement in Gross | Grants the holder the right to use the land for a specific purpose but does not pass on to future owners |
| Dominant Tenement | The piece of land benefited by an easement |
| Servient Tenement | The piece of land burdened by an easement |
| Ways to get Easements | Behavior/Implication Estoppel/Prescription (like adverse possession) Written Agreements (This is the one the Statute of Frauds cares about) Necessity |
| Implication Considerations for Easements | Was the easement formerly associated with a common owner? Was the easement in place when the land was given? Was the easement used continuously? Could the people reasonably have known that the easement was in place? Was the easement reasonably necessary? |
| Real Covenants | Covenants where money is at stake |
| When can a Real Covenant enforcing a burden be enforced? | You need the following: Intent, Horizontal Privity, Vertical Privity, Touch and Concern, and Notice. |
| When can a Real Covenant enforcing a benefit be enforced? | You need the following: Intent, Vertical Privity, and Touch and Concern. |
| Equitable Servitudes | Covenants where an injunction is at stake |
| When can an Equitable Servitude enforcing a burden be enforced? | You need the following: Intent, Touch and Concern, and Notice. |
| When can an Equitable Servitude enforcing a benefit be enforced? | You need the following: Intent and Touch and Concern. |
| What is Touch and Concern (in covenants)? | When something affects the parties' legal relations as landowners and pertains to the land |
| Horizontal Privity | The relationship between the parties on opposite sides of a covenant. If the relationship |
| Vertical Privity | The relationship between parties on the same sides of a covenant. There is no vertical privity if there is adverse possession. |
| Types of Notice for a Covenant | Actual Notice (Just telling someone) Inquiry Notice (They could have been able to tell based on the surrounding area) Record Notice (Jurisdiction specific; there are documents that exist that could give notice if reasonably sought out) |
| Fair Housing Act | Prohibits Landlords, Real Estate Companies, Municipalities, Banks, other lending institutions and some insurance companies from discriminating in the sale or rental of housing on the basis of Sex, Race/Color, Religion, Familial Status, National Origin, Disability. |
| Common Interest Communities | A group of people that bind an area with a set of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions that run with the land |
| Conditions for a covenant's restriction to be disallowed in a Common Interest Community under Nahrstedt. | The restriction cannot be wholly arbitrary. |
| Conditions for a covenant's restriction to be disallowed in a Common Interest Community under the Restatement Test. | The restatement establishes a presumption that a servitude is valid unless it is illegal, unconstitutional, or violates public policy. |
| Euclidean Zoning | Enumerates and separates use districts which are graded from the highest or most desirable uses to the lowest or least desirable uses |
| Aesthetic Zoning | Zoning based on how things look. |
| 2-Part Aesthetic Zoning Test | (1) Whether ‘[a]n intent to convey a particularized message was present,’ (2) Whether ‘the likelihood was great that [a] message would be understood by those who viewed it.’ |
| Exclusionary Zoning | The practice of adopting zoning policies specifically to exclude certain individuals. This is allowed unless the zoning violates civil rights or is otherwise impractical. |
| Eminent Domain | This is when the government takes someone's property. This is allowed only when the property is to be used for a "public purpose" meaning that there will be some sort of benefit for the public as a result of this. |
| Takings | When the government uses your land continuously and you get money because they did/are doing that. The definition of "continuous" is ridiculously broad. |
| Distinct Investment-Backed Expectations Test for Takings | This is a multi-part test in which the following are considered: (1) the economic impact of the regulation on the property owner (2) whether the regulation interferes with the property owner’s “distinct investment-backed expectations.” (This is one of the most important ones.) (Complete devaluation is a big one here.) (3) Whether the government has physically invaded the land (4) Whether the regulation seeks to regulate nuisance-type uses of property (5) whether the regulation confers an “average reciprocity of advantage.” (6) whether the regulated party is being “singled out” for burdens more justifiably imposed on the community as a whole. |
| Takings Per Se | This is a taking which is allowed by a statute. |
| 4 Things (Unities) Required for Co-Ownership | Time Title Interest Possession |
| Tenancy in Common | A type of co-ownership where two or more owners have undivided, separate, and proportionate shares of the property. |
| Joint Tenancy | Co-ownership characterized by the right of survivorship. |
| Tenancy by the Entirety | Joint Tenancy with Marriage |
| Partition Types | Partition in Kind (Co-owned land is literally split between the co-owners) Partition by Sale (Co-owned land is sold to the highest bidder and the money is split between the co-owners) |
| Marital Property | Property that can be split in a marriage. |