Property II
Fall 2001
Final Exam
Professor Brower

One Question
Ninety Minutes

In 1950, Oliver Wendell was the. fee simple absolute owner of a 50-acre parcel of land on Seven Sisters Road in Springfield. In that year, Oliver decided to develop Blackacre as 100 half-acre lots and houses to be called the Oliver Wendell Homes. He envisioned Oliver Wendell Homes as a single family neighborhood with views of the adjacent Finsbury Park Canyons. He therefore set to work laying out the lots, and built ranch-style homes on each lot. As was typical in that era, those ranch style homes were an architectural style in which houses were constructed entirely on a single level and sprawled over a large portion of the lot. Once built, the houses were billed as "Oliver Wendell Homes, Modern Ranch-Style Homes with Canyon Views."

As each lot was sold, Oliver Wendell required that each fee simple absolute deed to a property contain the following language: "(6) The buyer agrees for himself and his heirs and assigns that only single-family residences will be built thereon." In addition, the deeds to lots 1-70 and 80-100 also contained the following clause: "(14) The buyer agrees that any home built thereon shall not block or otherwise hinder the views of Finsbury Park Canyons from any other home in the neighborhood." Lots 7179 were situated in a valley on Blackacre, and Oliver Wendell did not think it was necessary to include provision #14 in those deeds since the existing houses he built there were singlestory ranch homes that were located low enough in the valley to allow the other lots unobstructed canyons views. All deeds sold were properly recorded.

It is now 2001. Preston is the current fee simple absolute owner of lot 74. He recently purchased it from Scott, who was the original buyer from Oliver Wendell in 1952. Preston wants to add an additional story to his single-family residence. That addition will remove part of the view of the canyon from his neighbor's residence on lot 88. The current resident of lot 88, Thomas, is renting the house from Alan, the original 1951 fee simple absolute purchaser of that lot from Oliver Wendell.

Thomas has come to you as the resident expert on real property law in Springfield to see if he can prevent Preston from building a two-story addition. If he cannot, he would like to get damages from Preston., at the very least.

You are aware that Springfield follows modern majority law, except that it maintains all estates in land that existed at common law. The Springfield statute of limitations for trespass or ejectment is 10 years. The zoning law permits both one- and two-story homes in that area.

You may use only one exam booklet. Write only on the right-hand pages and skip every other line. Please answer each question completely, yet concisely. Good Luck.