Property (530-4)

Instructors

Peter Charles DiCola
312/503-3231
Levy Mayer 295

Meeting Info

Rubloff Building 140: Thurs, Fri 10:25AM - 11:50AM

Overview of class

The textbook for the course is my own adaptation of CLOWNEY, GRIMMELMANN, GRYNBERG, SHEFF, & TUSHNET, OPEN-SOURCE PROPERTY: A FREE CASEBOOK (2015-2017), which I will abbreviate as "OSP." All assigned readings will be made available as PDF files on Canvas. There is no need to purchase a casebook!

Learning Objectives

In this course, students will gain an understanding of substantive property law by surveying a wide range of topics within the field. By the end of the term, students will be able to analyze basic doctrinal issues in property law, such as adverse possession, future interests, chain of title, and easements. Students will be able to express their views in writing, using idiomatic legal language from the field of property law. Students will gain a deeper understanding of private law by noting various interactions among property, tort, and contract. Students will get an introduction to the economic analysis of law throughout the term as various topics in property law surface classic law-and-economics concepts. Students will study the competing philosophies and policy justifications for various statutes and judicial doctrines within property law, with attention to inequality and civil rights.

Evaluation Method

70% final exam, 20% class participation (including exercises and practice midterm), 10% attendance

Class Materials (Required)

Class Materials (Suggested)

The exam will only cover material from the reading assignments or from classroom discussion. You are not expected or required to do outside reading, especially given the highly intensive format of the course. Commercial outlines, workbooks, or hornbooks, however, might help you—it depends on how you learn and study. If you do use outside study aids, you should beware of inaccurate or oversimplified sources. I generally recommend the treatise by Joseph William Singer & Nestor M. Davidson, Property (6th ed. 2022), which the organization of our course will track pretty well. I recommend a workbook by John Makdisi, Estates in Land and Future Interests: Problems and Answers (7th ed. 2017) to practice the particular topics named in that title. The volume by Burke and Snowe on Property in the Examples and Explanations series (6th ed. 2019) could also be helpful, because of its similar focus on problems and answers, but its coverage does not match what we do in the course.

Class Notes

The course will include a practice midterm exam. You will receive comments and a numerical score on the practice midterm, but the score does NOT count in your semester grade. To encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity for feedback, taking the practice midterm exam is part of the class participation portion of your semester grade, but you will get full credit just for taking the practice midterm exam.

Class Attributes

First Year Students only
Registrar enrollment; not a biddable class
Intellectual Property Practice Area present
Property Practice Area present in course

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: MSL Students are not eligible to enroll
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required