CLOSED BOOK
Your grade will be based upon your ability to recognize and resolve the various legal problems presented by the examination. Demonstrate an ability to think, rather than simply a rote memory .Do not state conclusions without reason.
If you believe it is necessary to assume any facts not given to answer any question, or part of a question, state those facts in your answer and indicate they are your assumptions. Be careful not to assume a problem out of existence.
If you wish to do so, you may use the initial letter of each party in your answer, rather than that party's full name.
The law of no particular jurisdiction is required. However, each of the problems presented below arises in the State of New Penn. New Penn has adopted the following, either as a part of the common law from England, or by a specific statute: Statute of de donis, Statute of Quia Emptores, Statute of Uses, "English" Statute of Frauds, Forcible Entry and Detainer Statute, Equal Rights Provision in New Penn Constitution, and a twenty-one year Statute of Limitations for actions to recover the possession of land. To the extent that it is important, the "lien theory" prevails for mortgages. A modem statewide Housing Code exists. In addition, fee tail estates and primogeniture have been abolished by statute. Intestate property is distributed first to issue per stirpes who survive the decedent; if none survive, then to parents who survive the decedent; if no parent survives, to the parents' issue who survive the decedent; if the decedent is not survived by issue, parents, brothers, or sisters, then to the decedent's grandparents and their children who survive the decedent. If no one within these classes survives the decedent, the property passes to the state. The following Recording Act has been adopted:
A conveyance of an interest in real estate, other than a lease for a term of less than three years, shall be not valid as against any person except the grantor, his heirs, devisee and donees, and persons having notice of the conveyance, until recorded in accordance with this act.
1.
After graduation from law school, and you returned to your hometown, Herringdale, in Norden County, Westsylvania to practice law. The senior partner of the law firm where you are working has asked you to prepare a letter to a firm client named Gert. Gert's grandfather, Ted, died in 1995. His will left all of his personal property and the family home to his wife, Wynn.
Ted also owned a summer home, known as "Blackacre." Ted's will provided in part:
FOURTH: I leave Blackacre to my wife, WYNN, for her natural life and, at her death, to my three children, DOT, EDGAR, and FREIDA, equally, or to the survivor or survivors of them should any of them die without issue surviving them.
Wynn died last year. She left her entire estate to the Fox Home for Wayward Law Students. Gert is Dot's only child and the sole devisee under her will. Dot died a year before Wynn. Edgar and his child are living. Freda died intestate three years ago with ever having had children.
Edgar is single and a recluse. He has no use for money or for Blackacre. He is willing to give his interest in Blackacre to Gert.
Gert has been approached by P&P, Inc., a coal mine operator interested in buying the coal mining rights under Blackacre. It has offered a very good price. P&P can remove the coal through an underground mine it currently operates on adjoining property. No subsidence damages expected as a result of the mining. (No, subsidence damages not inevitable.) P&P insists that Gert provide a general warranty deed to the coal estate.
You have made a diligent search of the title records and a visual inspection of the property. This has revealed no recorded or unrecorded easements, use restrictions, leases, or liens on Blackacre. There has been no prior severance of the coal rights.
Other than taking her business to another lawyer in Herringdale, what advice should the partner give Gert? Essentially, Gert wants to know the extent of her rights, the risks involved in conveying to P&P by a general warranty deed, if any, how she can reduce them if necessary. EXPLAIN YOUR ADVICE SO GERT CAN UNDERSTAND IT!!!!!
2.
O'Brien, LLC, is a residential subdivision developer. It acquired 200 acres near Herringdale. It created two subdivisions, the FoxRidge Plan of Lots and the Fox Field Plan of Lots. Each is 100 acres in size and contains 75 equal sized lots, easements for private streets over those lots, and common areas known as FoxRidge Park and Fox Field Park. It recorded the two Plans. O'Brien transferred the park land and street easements to the FoxRidge Owners Association (FROA) and the Fox Field Owners Association {FFOA), respectively.
Each plan contains the same restrictions: (1) Use of a lot is limited to a single family residence and (2) each lot owner must pay the appropriate Owners Association its share of the cost of maintaining and protecting the streets and park.
O'Brien sold all of the land in the FoxRidge Plan except the park to Modern Builders, another residential homebuilder. Modern developed this land and sold lots to individual buyers. Each original deed refers to the recorded subdivision plan.
O'Brien built and sold houses on most of the lots in the Fox Field Plan, with a reference to the recorded subdivision plan in each deed. One unsold lot, located at the outer corner of the Plan, remained unsold for 25 years.
Brown purchased a lot in the FoxField Plan from Allan, who purchased it from O'Brien. Clark also purchased a lot in the Fox Field Plan from O'Brien. Smith owns a lot in the FoxRidge Plan that Smith purchased from Modern Lots.
Downs has lived on a lot in the Fox Field Plan for 22 years. Downs took possession when her mother, Mrs. Downs, died. Downs has always believed that mother left the lot to her, but, in fact, mother's will left it to her brother. Brother has never seen the property. Downs has always paid the FFOA street and park maintenance assessments on the property.
VisionCo purchased the last lot in the Fox Field Plan in 2003 and intends to erect a TV, telephone, and cable switching station there to serve the FoxRidge and FoxField Plans. Presently no cable service is available for homes in either Plan. VisionCo plans to close the streets along front and side of its lot, which will require Brown to travel1j2 mile farther to get in and out of the subdivision. VisionCo refuses to pay any assessment for the Fox Field Park since it does not use the park and is providing a service to Fox Field Plan owners.
The rear of VisionCo's lot abuts Downs' lot and the side yard abuts Brown's lot. Clark's lot is located several blocks away. Smith's lot is one block from Vision's lot in the other Plan.
Brown, Clark, Downs, and Smith are vehemently opposed to Vision's plans. They have asked you to advise them as to the actions they might take, separately or together, to stop Vision. They tell you that most other owners in each Plan strongly favor VisionCo's actions. Advise them concerning any actions available and the likelihood of success of each action. EXP ALIN YOUR CONCLUSIONS! ! ! ! !
3.
Your client, L&N Corp., owns a 30-story office building in downtown Herringdale. The building is leased to various commercial tenants. One tenant, Flower, assigned its lease to ABC Shoes, a low price shoe store, without L&N's consent. Flower's lease restricted transfers of the lease to any tenant whose business was not the same as Flower's without L&N's written consent. Flower ran a large retail flower store. L&N's purpose for this restriction was to provide a beneficial mix of related retail businesses on the ground floor. Flower's rent was $2,000 a month. ABC has refused to pay that amount, claiming its business will not support so large a rent. It has offered to pay $1,000 a month, an amount unacceptable to L&N .
Herringdale issues annual Occupancy Permits for all commercial buildings in the city. The purpose of this requirement is to assure that these buildings meet current Building Code health and safety requirements. The owner of a building that is denied an Occupancy Permit must bring the building into compliance within six months or close the building until it meets current Code requirements.
In January 2003, Herringdale amended its Building Code to require all commercial buildings over 15 stories allow the City to install, free of charge, a City owned communications antenna on the building's roof. The stated purpose is to provide adequate communications among City, County, and State police, fire, ambulance, and emergency services. The City's present communications system has "blind spots" where radio transmissions are inaudible. The Chief of the Department of Emergency Services is authorized to select specific buildings where antennas will be erected, based of radio reception needs.
The Chief has just notified L&N that its building, one of the tallest in Herringdale, has been selected as the site of one of the antennas; installation will begin before the end of this year. The City will pay all costs of installing and maintaining the antenna.
L&N does not want an antenna on its roof. Its current leases allow tenants to install satellite communications dishes with a diameter of no more than 12 inches for an additional rental charge. Several tenants have these dishes and use them daily to communicate with other offices. The City's antenna will be 45 feet high. L&N is concerned that this antenna will interfere with transmissions to and from the tenants' satellite dishes. L&N also does not want to give City workers access to the roof for safety reasons; it currently controls the contractors that tenants may use for all tenant improvements. Using the same rental rate as charged its tenants, the antenna installation area would generate $25,000 a year if occupied by tenant satellite dishes.
a. What actions can L&N take against ABC, which has not paid any rent in the three months it has occupied the store?
b. Must L&N allow Herringdale to place the emergency communications antenna on the roof of its building?
EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS!!!!!!
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