PROPERTY I—FINAL EXAM
PROFESSOR AMANA
MAY 10, 2003
Instructions
1. You have three (3) hours to complete this exam.
2. This is an open notes exam. You are allowed to use your written outline prepared for this class. No commercial outlines are allowed.
3. There are three (3) Parts to this exam. Allocate your time as you wish
Part I: Consists of 30 Multiple Choice questions. Total worth of 30 points.
Part II: Consists of two (2) Essays. Essay #1 is worth 25 points. Essay #2 is worth 20 points. Total worth of 45 points.
Part III: OPTIONAL This part consist of five (5) questions and is worth 5 extra points.
The final exam is worth 75 % of your grade. The midterm is worth 25%.
4. Please write your essay answers in the blue books provided to you. Write only on the right hand side of the page and double-space your work (written or typed). Short answers should be answered in the space provided for you on this exam question packet.
5. I suggest that you read the Multiple Choice questions carefully and outline your essay answers before writing them.
6. Write you exam number on your exam envelope, at the top this exam question packet and your used blue books. Do not use your name, student ID number or Social Security Number on any exam materials.
7. At the conclusion of the exam, return all exam materials to the exam envelope and submit it to the proctor. Do not seal the envelope.
GOOD LUCK!
ESSAY # 1/(25 Points Total)
In 1981, Newt Gecko purchased a 100-acre track of land in
Northern Orange County. The property is
bordered on the south by State Road (SR) 187. Traveling on SR 187, it is approximately 30 miles from Gecko’s property
to Interstate 40. An abandoned mining
road runs across the northernmost part of the property. The mining road travels west from Gecko’s
property across property owned by Marvin Belli, then dead ends at Cedar Grove
Road. From the intersection of the
mining road and Cedar Grove Road, it is approximately 10 miles to interstate 40. To the east, the mining road dead-ends where
the Eno River crosses the northeast corner of Gecko’s property.
Gecko built a cabin on the northern portion of the
property. During construction, he
created a driveway from the cabin to SR 187. Construction of the cabin was completed in 1982. After moving into the cabin, Gecko used the
mining road across Belli’s property to Cedar Grove Road because that route cut
off about 20 minutes of Gecko’s travel time to his job as a guidance counselor
at Skyline High School. Gecko never
asked Belli for permission to use the mining road, but Belli never objected to
Gecko’s use. Gecko occasionally used
his original driveway to travel to the nearest convenience store, which was a
couple of miles away on SR 187.
In 2001, Gecko built a new house on the southern part of the
property, which he accesses from 187. Last fall, Gecko sold the northernmost 20 acres including the cabin to
Jane Taylor, an English professor at Golden State University. Nothing was said about an easement, either
across the property Gecko retained or across the property owned by Belli. After the sale to Taylor, Gecko seeded two
acres around his new house for a lawn, covering 50 feet of the original
driveway, which ran within 20 feet of Gecko’s new house. Gecko has since refused to allow Taylor to
use the original driveway. He told
Taylor that no easement was granted to her in the deed and that he had no
intention of giving her the right to drive across his new lawn. Taylor has been using the mining road across
Belli’s property to reach her property. Last month, Belli placed a heavy chain across the mining road to keep
Taylor from crossing his property. Taylor asked Belli for an easement to use the mining road, but he flatly
and rudely refused.
Without the right to use either the driveway or the mining
road, Taylor is landlocked. She has
come to you for advice about what she can do. Advise her fully regarding what rights, if any, she has to use either
Gecko’s original driveway or the mining road across Belli’s property. The prescriptive period in Orange County is
20 years.
ESSAY # 2/(20 Points Total)
After passing the
February 2001 bar exam, Anna Belle decided to open her own practice. She found a lovely older home near the
courthouse that had been converted into an office. The house belonged to Obie Juan, who had inherited it from his
grandmother. Following his
grandmother’s death, Ollie converted the house for use as an office, but left
his grandmother’s beautiful rose garden intact. The rose garden took up most of
the front yard. On April 1, 2001, Obie
and Anna entered into a written lease under which Anna agreed to rent the house
for $1,000 per month for five years. The lease also provided that Anna would maintain the rose garden during
the term of the lease.
Anna’s practice was quite successful and soon she earned a
reputation as a competent and aggressive trial lawyer. In August of 2001, the District Attorney
offered Anna a position. Although she
enjoyed private practice, Anna accepted the district attorney’s offer so that
she could develop her litigation skills. On September 1, 2001, Anna closed her practice and assumed her new
position as an assistant prosecutor.
Obie refused Anna’s offer to surrender the remainder of her
lease term, and Anna immediately began looking for someone to take over her
lease. A few days later, Anna was
introduced to Barbara Allen. Barbara
was campaigning for the U.S. Senate and needed a downtown building to use as
her campaign headquarters. Anna and
Barbara orally agreed that Barbara would take possession of Obie’s house from
October 1, 2001 until November 30, 2002 and would pay the rent of $1,000 per
month directly to Obie.
Barbara used the house as her campaign headquarters for six
months without paying rent to Anna or Obie. In March 2002, a frontpage article in the local newspaper questioned
several large, unaccounted for contributions made to Barbara’s campaign. On March 29, Barbara disappeared. No one has heard from her since. On May 1, 2002, after writing several
unanswered letters to Barbara and Anna demanding payment of the past due rent,
Obie visited the house and learned for the first time that no one was in
possession. Obie was dismayed to find
his grandmother’s beloved rose garden in ruins. Not only had Barbara failed to pay rent, she had completely
ignored the roses, many of which were dead or dying.
He does not care who pays, but he wants to recover the full
amount of rent due under the lease and money damages for breach of the lease
provision expressly requiring the tenant to maintain the rose garden. The jurisdiction follows the modern majority
rule. Fully advise Obie regarding his
right to recover against Anna, Barbara or both.
PART III/Short Answers
(Five points extra credit. Use only the space provided on the exam.)
1. O devised Rocky Top “to A on condition that the property is not used as
a dance hall, and if it is ever so used, O shall have the right to reenter and
retake title and possession.”
a) A has:
O has:
b) A few months later A transferred
Rocky Top “to B so long as B resides north of the Mason Dixon Line; and if B
should move south of the Mason Dixon Line to C and his heirs.
A has:
B has:
C has:
O has:
2. O transferred “to Anna Turner if she makes an A in Property I.”
3. O conveyed Blackacre “to A, B and C in fee simple absolute, as joint
tenants with rights of survivorship and not as tenants in common.”
a. After the transfer from O, A died testate, devising everything she owned
at her death to her husband H.
B has:
H has:
C has:
O has:
b. Two years later, B died intestate, survived by his son and only heir S.
S has:
H has:
C has:
O has:
4. A, B and C own a house as tenants in common. No one lives in the
house. A decided it would be better to
have someone there and rented it to X for $900 a month. After renting the house to X for five
months, the co-tenants decide to sell the house. To boost the market value and curb appeal of the house, A spends
$3,000 to paint the exterior.
a) Will A be able to force B and C to reimburse him for the cost of the
painting?
b) Can B and C force A to share a portion of the rents received from X with
them?
5. O conveys Goldacre to A so long as she does not use the house as a speakeasy
and if she so uses then to C; A conveys a life estate to B; B conveys to D
for five years.
O has:
A has:
B has:
D has:
C has: