E&E Property Outline
Supplement to Property 9th Edition by Jesse Dukeminier
Professor Seplowitz 2019
Personal Property & First Possession
Possession, Relativity of Title, & First-In-Time
! Possession: controlling or
...
E&E Property Outline
Supplement to Property 9th Edition by Jesse Dukeminier
Professor Seplowitz 2019
Personal Property & First Possession
Possession, Relativity of Title, & First-In-Time
! Possession: controlling or holding of personal property, w/or w/o claim of ownership. It
has 2 elements:
1. An intent to possess o the part of the possessor, &
2. His actual controlling or holding of the property
o a possessor is said to have superior rights to pers prop against all except those
having higher rights or title, & a possessor can recover possession of an item of
pers prop, or recover damages for its injury or destruction
! Relativity of Title: the idea that a person can have a relatively better title or right to
possession than another, while simultaneously having a right inferior to yet another
person
! First-in-Right: is one way to prioritize several individuals’ rights; establishes a priority
of rights based on the time of acquiring the right in question.
o The chronologically first possessor has the better title
Property
Personal Prop: all
prop other than real
prop. Ex: cars,
books, comps
Intangible: assets that
cannot be seen or touched
but still have vaule. Ex:
stocks, bonds, copyright,
patent, $
Tangible: prop of physical
nautrue; you can see & touch
it. Ex: car, book, clothes,
comp
Fixture: personal prop that
has been permanently
attached to real prop, but can
be removed. Has a hybrid
nautre. Ex: dishwasher
installed in a kitchen cabinet
Real Prop: land & the
improvements attached to
the land. Ex: buildings,
fences, damns
1
Downloaded by Angie Tejeda (
[email protected])
lOMoARcPSD|11137200
Actual Possession & the Fox Case
! Pierson v. Post→since Post never actually controlled the fox, the appellate ct rules that
Post never took legal possession.
o Post did not have control
o This case involved a rule of possession made so that the first hunter to capture the
fox wins. This is a rule of first-in-time, first-in-right.
▪ Necessity→if the law is to devise a rule for a race w/o a common starting
line, then the end of the race is all that matters bc it is all the ct has to work
with.
