If you’re like me, you’ve probably sat through a majority of Property praying for death. Not that I didn’t go in with high hopes. The acquisition and transfer of real Property is fundamental to the way I eke out a living, so I thought it would be a great start to law school.
Wrong. ‘Property’ is largely the study of a set of byzantine rules that have been superseded by contractual interpretations of the same material. Who really cares if at Common Law, landlords were able to utilize self-help to get rid of non-paying tenants if you have to call the cops to get rid of a deadbeat now? For the five large I’m paying for the class, I want tools I can use.
But wait! Turns out that you can still use property law for fun and profit. Just ask retired judge Richard McLean and his wife, attorney Edith Stevens. Seems that for the last 18 years, they had used a lot on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, primarily for a small garden and stacking firewood.
Trouble is, they didn’t own the land. It belonged to Don and Susie Kirlin who had planned to build their dream house there. Judge McLean and Ms. Stevens (clearly having been more attentive in class than me) sued under a theory of adverse possession, and were awarded a third of the property, valued at about $300,000. While the couples are now in settlement negotiations, I for one am on my way the nearest vacant beachfront lot to set up a tent and small garden. Let me know if you find a choice location in Aspen or the Hamptons.
That’s like right out of a Property exam.
The money quote: “In a highly publicized case in London, a homeless man this year won ownership of a small plot in a tony neighborhood where he had lived in a shack unchallenged for 21 years.” Adverse possession as the answer to affordable housing shortages!