In May 2005, Fred Parramore executed four deeds, each conveying a life estate in his land to him and his wife and a remainder interest in one-fourth of his land to each of his four children: Alney, Eudell, Bernice, and Iris. Although Fred executed and acknowledged the four deeds as part of his plan to distribute his estate at his death, he did not deliver them to his children at this time. Instead, he placed the deeds with his will in a safe deposit box and instructed the children to pick up their deeds at his death. Fred later conveyed Alney’s deed to Alney, thereby vesting Alney’s interest in that parcel, but Eudell, Bernice, and Iris’s deeds were never handed over to them during Fred’s lifetime. Fred, however, acted as if the land was beyond his control, and on one occasion told a prospective buyer that the land had already been deeded away. When Fred died in November 2015, Alney brought this action, claiming that the deeds to Eudell, Bernice, and Iris were ineffective because they had never been handed over during Fred’s lifetime. Accordingly, Alney argued the remaining land should pass in equal shares to each of the four children under the residuary clause of Fred’s will. Who will prevail? Why?
> Cushing filed an application with the office of the Adjutant General of the State of New Hampshire for the use of the Portsmouth Armory to hold a dance on the evening of April 29. The application, made on behalf of the Portsmouth Area Clamshell Alliance,
> Mrs. Audrey E. Vokes, a widow of fifty-one years and without family, purchased fourteen separate dance courses from J. P. Davenport’s Arthur Murray, Inc., School of Dance. The fourteen courses totaled in the aggregate 2,302 hours of dancing lessons at a
> Anna Feinberg began working for the Pfeiffer Company in 1965 at age seventeen. By 2002, she had attained the position of bookkeeper, office manager, and assistant treasurer. In appreciation for her skill, dedication, and long years of service, the Pfeiff
> EarthWeb provided online products and services to business professionals in the information technology (IT) industry. EarthWeb operated through a family of websites offering information, products, and services for IT professionals to use for facilitating
> For more than 40 years, Rose Cipollone smoked between one and two packs of cigarettes a day. Upon her death from lung cancer, Rose’s husband, Antonio Cipollone, filed suit against Liggett Group, Inc., Lorillard, Inc., and Philip Morris, Inc., three of th
> Joseph Eugene Dodson, age sixteen, purchased a used pickup truck from Burns and Mary Shrader. The Shraders owned and operated Shrader’s Auto Sales. Dodson paid $14,900 in cash for the truck. At the time of sale, the Shraders did not question Mr. Dodson’s
> Stuart Studio, an art studio, prepared a new catalog for the National School of Heavy Equipment, a school run by Gilbert and Donald Shaw. When the artwork was virtually finished, Gilbert Shaw requested Stuart Studio to purchase and supervise the printing
> Pizza of Gaithersburg and The Pizza Shops contracted with Virginia Coffee Service (Virginia) to install vending machines in each of their restaurants. One year later, the Macke Company (a provider of vending machines) purchased Virginia’s assets, and the
> Associated Builders, Inc., provided labor and materials to William M. Coggins and Benjamin W. Coggins, doing business as Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium, to complete a structure on Main Street in Bar Harbor, Maine. After a dispute arose regarding compens
> Sanders agreed in writing to write, direct, and produce a motion picture on the subject of lithography (a method for printing using stone or metal) for the Tamarind Lithography Workshop. After the completion of this film, Four Stones for Kanemitsu, litig
> Terminal Grain Corporation brought an action against Glen Freeman, a farmer, to recover damages for breach of an oral contract to deliver grain. According to Terminal Grain, Freeman orally agreed to two sales of wheat to Terminal Grain of four thousand b
> On February 26, 2014, William Stem purchased a used BMW from Gary Braden for $26,600. Stem’s primary purpose for buying the car was to use it to drive his child to school and various activities. Braden indicated to Stem that the car had not been wrecked
> Harrison, a men’s clothing retailer located in Westport, Connecticut, ordered merchandise from Ninth Street East, Ltd., a Los Angeles–based clothing manufacturer. Ninth Street delivered the merchandise to Denver-Chicago Trucking Company (Denver) in Los A
> Brian Felley purchased a used Ford Taurus from Thomas and Cheryl Singleton for $8,800. The car had 126,000 miles on it. After test driving the car, Felley discussed the condition of the car with Thomas Singleton, who informed Felley that the only thing k
> Daniel Martin and John Duke contracted with J & S Distributors, Inc., to purchase a KIS Magnum Speed printer for $17,000. The parties agreed that Martin and Duke would send one-half of the money as a deposit and would pay the balance upon delivery. They
> A gasoline-powered lawn mower, which had been used earlier to cut grass, was left unattended next to a water heater which had been manufactured by Sears. Expert testimony was presented to demonstrate that vapors from the mower’s gas tank accumulated unde
> Holly Hill Acres, Ltd., executed and delivered a promissory note and a purchase money mortgage to Rogers and Blythe. The note provided that it was secured by a mortgage on certain real estate and that the terms of that mortgage “are by this reference mad
> Wilson was employed as the office manager of Palmer & Ray Dental Supply of Abilene, Inc. Soon after an auditor discovered a discrepancy in the company’s inventory, Wilson confessed to cashing thirty-five checks that she was supposed to deposit on behalf
> Leonard Wolfe was killed in an automobile accident while driving his Toyota Camry. The car was rendered a total loss, and Wolfe’s insurance carrier paid his estate $17,550 for damage to the vehicle. Under the terms of Wolfe’s will, any car owned at his d
> The validly executed will of John Dane contained the following provision: “I give and devise to my daughter, Mary, Redacre for and during her natural life and, at her death, the remainder to go to Wilmore College.” The will also provide that the residue
> Arnold executed a one-page will in which he devised his farm to Burton. Later, after a quarrel with Burton, Arnold wrote the words “I hereby cancel and revoke this will /s/Arnold” in the margin of the will but did not destroy the will. Arnold then execut
> Edwin Fuller, a bachelor, prepared his will in his office. The will, which contained no residuary clause, provided that one-third of his estate would go to his nephew, Tom Fuller, one-third to the city of Emanon to be used for park improvements, and one-
> On March 10, John Carver executed his will, which was witnessed by William Hobson and Sam Witt. By his will, Carver devised his farm, Stonecrest, to his nephew, Roy White. The residue of his estate was given to his sister, Florence Carver. A codicil to h
> Joe Brown gave $350,000 to his wife, Mary, with which to buy real property. They orally agreed that title to the real property should be taken in the name of Mary Brown but that she should hold the property in trust for Joe Brown. There were two witnesse
> Collins was trustee for Indolent under the will of Indolent’s father. Indolent, a middle-aged doctor, gave little concern to the management of the trust fund, contenting himself with receiving the income paid to him by the trustee. Among the assets of th
> George Washington Croom died testate. In his will Croom left various bequests of real and personal property to his children and a grandchild. In Item Eight of his will Croom stated “I leave nothing whatsoever to my daughter Kathryn Elizabeth Turner, and
> For sixteen years, the late Mrs. Dorothy Mae Palmer was married to Mr. Schultz, an insulator who worked with asbestos products. Mrs. Palmer was not exposed to asbestos dust in a factory setting; rather, she was exposed when Mr. Schultz brought his work c
> Mamie Henry, a widow, died leaving no children but she was survived by several nieces and nephews. At first no will was found, and Joe Barksdale, a nephew, was appointed administrator of Mrs. Henry’s estate. Later, Rita Pendergrass produced a copy of a w
> John Hobelsberger lived alone on his farm near Kranzburg, South Dakota. A grandniece, Phyllis Raml, and her husband, Ralph, lived on and operated a farm about two miles away. Hobelsberger and the Ramls had a friendly and cordial relationship. The Ramls v
> Rodney Sharp was a fifty-six-year-old dairy farmer whose education did not go beyond the eighth grade. Upon the death of his wife of thirty-two years, Sharp developed a very close relationship with Jean Kosmalski, a schoolteacher sixteen years his junior
> By his last will and testament, Henry Nussbaum made a residual bequest and devise of his estate to his niece, Jane Blair, as trustee, in trust for the education of his grandchildren. If the trust could not be fulfilled, the residue was to revert to the p
> Grace Peterson, a spinster then aged seventy-four, asked Chester Gustafson, a Minneapolis attorney, to draw a will for her. Gustafson, who had also probated Peterson’s sister’s estate, drew this first will and six subsequent wills and codicils free of ch
> State whether or not a trust is created in each of the following situations: (a) A declares herself trustee of “the bulk of my securities” in trust for B. (b) A, the owner of Blackacre, purports to convey to B in trust for C “a small part” of Blackacre.
> For seven years, Desford Potts had owned a 6-acre tract of land within the corporate limits of the city of Franklin. The tract contained a livestock barn in which Potts stored lumber and other building materials. Bricks were also stored in stacks 4 or 5
> The City of Boston sought to condemn land in fee simple for use in constructing an entrance to an underground terminal for a subway. The owners of the land contend that no more than surface and subsurface easements are necessary for the terminal entrance
> Alda and Mattingly are residents of Unit I of Chimney Hills Subdivision. The lots owned by Alda and Mattingly are subject to the following restrictive covenant: “Lots shall be for single-family residence purposes only.” Alda intends to convert her carpor
> In adjoining locations along one side of a single suburban village block, Barker operated a retail bakery; Davidson, a drugstore; Farrell, a food store; Gibson, a gift shop; and Harper, a hardware store. As the population grew, the business section devel
> Heckman, an employee of Clark Equipment Company, severely injured his left hand when he caught it in a power press that he was operating at work. The press was manufactured by Federal Press Company and sold to Clark eight years earlier. It could be opera
> On January 1, 2014, Davis and Hershey owned Blackacre as tenants in common. On July 1, 2014, Davis made a written contract to sell Blackacre to Dibbert for $125,000. Pursuant to this contract, Dibbert paid Davis $125,000 on August 1, 2014, and Davis exec
> Marcia executed a mortgage of Blackacre to secure her indebtedness to Ajax Savings and Loan Association in the amount of $125,000. Later, Marcia sold Blackacre to Morton. The deed contained the following provision: “This deed is subject to the mortgage e
> Robert and Stanley held legal title of record to adjacent tracts of land, each consisting of a number of five acres. Stanley fenced his five acres in 1985, placing his east fence 15 feet onto Robert’s property. Thereafter, he was in possession of this 15
> Arkin, the owner of Redacre, executed a real estate mortgage to the Shawnee Bank and Trust Company for $100,000. After the mortgage was executed and recorded, Arkin constructed a dwelling on the premises and planted a corn crop. After Arkin defaulted in
> In 1972, South Carolina enacted a Coastal Zone Management Act requiring any person using land in a “critical area” to obtain a permit for any uses other than those to which the critical area was devoted when the act went into effect on September 28, 1977
> Sam and Eleanor Gaito purchased a home from Howard Frank Auman, Jr., in the spring of 2013. Auman had completed the construction of the house in November 2008. In the interim, three different parties had lived in the house for brief periods, but Auman ha
> Robert V. Gross owned certain land on which he proposed to construct an eighty-three-unit apartment house. The land, however, was subject to a restriction imposed by a 1972 deed to a predecessor in title that provided that no part of the premises could b
> The Glendale Church purchased a 21-acre parcel of land in a canyon along the banks of Mill Creek in Angeles National Forest. The church used the 12 flat acres next to the stream to operate a campground for disabled children. This area had a number of imp
> Leo owned a one-story, one-family dwelling in a single-family residential zoning district in Detroit. He attempted to sell the house with its adjoining lot for $138,500. Houses in the neighborhood generally sold for $120,000 to $125,000. Immediately to t
> The Gerwitz family resides on a piece of land known as Lot 24 of the Belleville tract, which they acquired by deed in 1995. Shortly thereafter, the Gerwitzes began to use the adjacent vacant Lot 25. At various times they planted grass seed, flowers, and
> Vlases, a coal miner who had always raised small flocks of chickens, spent two years building a new two-story chicken coop large enough to house 4,000 chickens. After its completion, he purchased 2,200 one-day-old chicks from Montgomery Ward for the purp
> Arthur was the father of Bridgette, Clay, and Dana and the owner of Redacre, Blackacre, and Greenacre. Arthur made and executed a warranty deed conveying Redacre to Bridgette. The deed provided that “this deed shall become effective only on the death of
> At the time of his marriage to Ann, Robert owned several parcels of real estate in joint tenancy with his brother, Sam. During his marriage, Robert purchased a house and put the title in his name and his wife’s name as joint tenants, not as tenants in co
> Otis Olson, the owner of two adjoining city lots, A and B, built a house on each. He laid a drainpipe from lot B across lot A to the main sewer pipe under the alley beyond lot A. Olson then sold and conveyed lot A to Fred Ford. The deed, which made no me
> In her will, Teressa granted a life estate to Amos in certain real estate, with remainder to Brenda and Clive in joint tenancy. All the rest of Teressa’s estate was left to Hillman College. While going to Teressa’s funeral, the car in which Amos, Brenda,
> In 2003, Roy Martin and his wife, Alice; their son, Hiram; and Hiram’s wife, Myrna, acquired title to a 240-acre farm. The deed ran to Roy Martin and Alice Martin, the father and mother, as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, and to Hiram Marti
> Jay signed a two-year lease containing a clause that expressly prohibited subletting. After six months, Jay asked the landlord for permission to sublet the apartment for one year. The landlord refused. This angered Jay, and he immediately assigned his ri
> Ames leased an apartment to Boor for $600 a month, payable the last day of each month. The term of the written lease was from January 1, 2014, through April 30, 2015. On March 15, 2014, Boor moved out, telling Ames that he disliked all the other tenants.
> Panessi leased to Barnes, for a term of ten years beginning May 1, certain premises located at 527–529 Main Street in Cleveland. The premises were improved with a three-story building, the first floor being occupied by stores and the upper stories by apa
> Smith owned Blackacre in fee simple absolute. In section 3 of a properly executed will, Smith devised Blackacre as follows: “I devise my farm Blackacre to my son Darwin so long as it is used as a farm.” Sections 5 and 6 of the will made gifts to persons
> Patient was injured when the footrest of an adjustable X-ray table collapsed, causing Patient to fall to the floor. G.E. manufactured the X-ray table and the footrest. At trial, evidence was introduced that G.E. had manufactured for several years another
> State whether the following provisions in a note impair or preclude negotiability, the instrument in each instance being otherwise in proper form. Answer each statement with either “Negotiable” or “Nonnegotiable” and explain why. a. A note signed by Henr
> On January 14, 2011, Eura Mae Redmon deeded land to her daughter, Melba Taylor, and two sons, W. C. Sewell and Billy Sewell, “jointly and severally, and unto their heirs, assigns and successors forever,” with the grantor retaining a life estate. W. C. Se
> On January 1, Mrs. Irene Kern leased an apartment from Colonial Court Apartments, Inc., for a one-year term. When the lease was entered into, Mrs. Kern asked for a quiet apartment, and Colonial assured her that the assigned apartment was in a quiet, well
> By separate leases, Javins and a few others rented an apartment at the Clifton Terrace apartment complex. When they defaulted on their rent payments, the landlord, First National Realty, brought an action to evict them. The tenants admitted to the defaul
> Clayton and Margie Gulledge owned a house at 532 Somerset Place, N.W. (the Somerset property) as tenants by the entirety. They had three children: Bernis Gulledge, Johnsie Walker, and Marion Watkins. When Margie Gulledge died in 1987, Clayton became the
> Robert and Marjorie Wake owned land that they used as both a cattle ranch and a farm. Each spring and autumn, the Wakes would drive their cattle from the ranch portion of the operation across an access road on the farmland to Butler Springs, which was al
> In 1972, a deed for land in Pitt County, North Carolina, was executed and delivered by Joel and Louisa Tyson “unto M. H. Jackson and wife Maggie Jackson, for and during the term of their natural lives and after their death to the children of the said M.
> Temco, Inc., conveyed to the Wynns certain property adjoining an apartment complex being developed by Sonnett Realty Company. Although nothing to this effect was contained in the deed, the sales contract gave the purchaser of the property use of the apar
> In 1988, Ogle owned two adjoining lots numbered 6 and 7 fronting at the north on a city street. In that year, she laid out and built a concrete driveway along and two feet in front of what she erroneously believed to be the west boundary of lot 7. Ogle u
> Kirkland conveyed a farm to Sandler to have and to hold for and during his life and on Sandler’s death to Rubin. Some years thereafter, oil was discovered in the vicinity. Sandler thereupon made an oil and gas lease, and the oil company set up its machin
> Elvers sold a parcel of real estate, describing it by its legal description and making no mention of any improvements or fixtures on it. The land had upon it a residence, a barn, a rail fence, a stack of hay, some growing corn, and a windmill. The reside
> Perfect Products manufactures balloons, which are then bought and resold by wholesale novelty distributors. Mego Corp. manufactures a doll called “Bubble Yum Baby.” A balloon is inserted in the doll’s mouth with a mouthpiece, and the doll’s arm is pumped
> Susan permitted Kevin to take her very old grandfather clock on the basis of Kevin’s representations that he was skilled at repairing such clocks and restoring them to their original condition and could do the job for $60. The clock had been badly damage
> Barnes, the owner and operator of Blackacre, decided to cease farming operations and liquidate his holdings. Barnes sold fifty head of yearling Merino sheep to Billing and then sold Blackacre to Clifton. He executed and delivered to Billing a bill of sal
> Jones had 50 crates of oranges equally divided between grades A, B, and C, grade A being the highest quality and C being the lowest. Smith had 1,000 crates of oranges, about 90 percent of which were grade A, but some of which were grades B and C, the exa
> Decide each of the following problems. (a) A chimney sweep found a jewel and took it to a goldsmith, whose apprentice removed the stone and refused to return it. The chimney sweep sues the goldsmith. (b) One of several boys walking along a railroad trac
> Gable, the owner of a lumber company, was cutting trees over the boundary line between his property and property owned by Lane. Although he realized he had crossed onto Lane’s property, Gable continued to cut trees of the same kind as those he had cut on
> Mrs. Mieske delivered thirty-two 50-foot reels of developed movie film to the Bartell Drug Company to be spliced together into four reels for viewing convenience. She placed the films, which contained irreplaceable pictures of her family’s activities ove
> David E. Ross, his two brothers, and their families operated and owned the entire stock of five businesses. Ross had three children: Rod, David II, and Betsy. David II and Betsy were not involved in the operation of the companies, but Rod began working f
> Sears had sold to and installed in the Seven Palms Motor Inn a number of furnishings, including drapes and bedspreads, in connection with the construction of a motel on land Seven Palms owned. Sears did not receive payment in full for the materials and l
> Scarola purchased an automobile for value and without knowledge that it was stolen. After he insured the car with Insurance Company of North America (INA), the car was stolen once again. When INA refused to reimburse Scarola for the loss, contending that
> Seton in Phoenix, according to a contract with Rider in New York, ships to Rider goods conforming to the contract and takes from the carrier a shipper’s order bill of lading that Seton indorses in blank and forwards by mail to Clemson, his agent in New Y
> The Talent Company, manufacturer of a widely advertised and expensive perfume, sold a quantity of this product to Young, a retail druggist. Dorothy and Bird visited the store of Young, and Dorothy, desiring to make a gift to Bird, purchased a bottle of t
> On June 1, Cain delivered his 2010 automobile to Barr, the operator of a repair shop, for necessary repairs. Barr put the car in his lot on Main Street. The lot, which is fenced on all sides except along Main Street, holds one hundred cars and is unguard
> Donna drove an automobile into Terry’s garage and requested him to make repairs for which the charge would be $125. Donna, however, never returned to get the automobile. Two months later, Carla saw the automobile in Terry’s garage and claimed it as her o
> Several years ago, Pierce purchased a tract of land on which stood an old, vacant house. Recently, Pierce employed Fried, a carpenter, to repair and remodel the house. While Fried was tearing out a partition to enlarge one of the rooms, he found a metal
> Rich, a club member, left his golf clubs with Bogan, the pro at the Happy Hours Country Club, to be refinished at Bogan’s pro shop. The refinisher employed by Bogan suddenly left town, taking Rich’s clubs with him. The refinisher had previously been abov
> (a) On April 1, Mary Rich, at the solicitation of Super Fur Company, delivered a $3,000 mink coat to the company at its place of business for storage in its vaults until November 1. On the same day, she paid the company its customary charge of $20 for su
> A, B, and C each stored 5,000 bushels of yellow corn in the same bin in X’s warehouse. X wrongfully sold 10,000 bushels of this corn to Y. A contends that inasmuch as his 5,000 bushels of corn were placed in the bin first, the remaining 5,000 bushels bel
> Curtis rented a safe deposit box from Reliable Safe Deposit Company, in which he deposited valuable securities and $4,000 in cash. Later, after opening the box and discovering $1,000 missing, Curtis brought an action against Reliable. At the trial, the c
> Hines stored her furniture, including a grand piano, in Arnett’s warehouse. Needing more space, Arnett stored Hines’s piano in Butler’s warehouse next door. As a result of a fire, which occurred without any fault of Arnett or Butler, both warehouses and
> Phil was the owner of a herd of twenty highly bred dairy cows. He was a prosperous farmer, but his health was very poor. On the advice of his doctor, Phil decided to winter in Arizona. Before he left, he made an agreement with Freya under which Freya was
> Lile, an insurance broker who handled all insurance for Tempo Co., purchased a fire policy from Insurance Company insuring Tempo Co.’s factory against fire in the amount of $150,000. Before the policy was delivered to Tempo and while it was still in Lile
> Robinson, a truck driver for a moving company, decided to buy a used truck from the company. Branch, the owner, told Robinson that the truck was being repaired and that Robinson should wait and inspect the truck before signing the contract. Robinson, who
> John Swan rented a safe deposit box at the Tenth Citizens Bank of Emanon, State of X. On December 17, 2014, Swan went to the bank with stock certificates to place in the safy deposit box. After he was admitted to the vault and had placed the stock certif
> In January, Roger Burke loaned his favorite nephew, Jimmy White, his valuable Picasso painting. Knowing that Jimmy would celebrate his twenty-first birthday on May 15, Burke sent a letter to Jimmy on April 14 stating: Dear Jimmy, Tomorrow I leave on my a
> Nigeria, experiencing an economic boom due to exports of high-grade oil, embarked on an infrastructure development plan. Accordingly, Nigeria entered into at least 109 contracts with 68 suppliers for the purchase of cement at a price of almost $1 billion
> New England Petroleum Corporation (NEPCO), a New York corporation, was in the business of selling fuel oil in the United States. PETCO, a refinery incorporated in the Bahamas, was a wholly owned subsidiary of NEPCO. In 1968, PETCO entered into a long-ter
> A Panamanian corporation lends money to a Turkish enterprise, which issues a promissory note. The loan contract specifies that payment on the interest and principal shall be made to the Chemical Bank of New York City, where both parties maintain accounts
> A business entity incorporated under the laws of one of the EU member nations contracts with the government of a developing nation to form a joint venture for the mining and refining of a scarce raw material used by several industrial nations in the manu
> King Faisal II of Iraq was killed on July 14, 1958, in the midst of a revolution in that country that led to the establishment of a republic subsequently recognized by the U.S. government. On July 19, 1958, the new republic issued a decree that all prope
