The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Murr v. Wisconsin, 137 S. Ct. 1933 (2017) Case Summary of Murr v. Wisconsin: Petitioners received two adjacent lots of land from their parents at two different times. They wanted to sell one lot, but a Wisconsin regulation prohibited the sale of the one lot. That was because the lot was adjacent to the […]
Read moreThe term “seisin” refers to the legal possession of land. A person holding an estate in seisin is said to be “seized of it.” This means that he alone owns all of the land. The term “seisin” comes from the European Feudal era, and it was used as a way to specify who has taken over a plot of land […]
Read moreThe term “condemnation” is used to define the situation wherein a local, state, or federal government seizes a citizen’s property, then compensates the owner for what was seized. An example of condemnation is a piece of property being condemned by the government due to a carbon monoxide leak. The owners of the property will be forced to move out, and […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374 (1994) Case Summary of Dolan v. City of Tigard: Petitioner Dolan sought to make changes to her business property. The City of Tigard placed two conditions on granting Dolan permission — a public greenway to mitigate flooding, and a pedestrian/bicycle path. Dolan appealed in state court, claiming […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Keeble v. Hickeringill, 11 East 570 (1707) Case Summary of Keeble v. Hickeringill: Keeble ran a decoy pond on his land for his livelihood. Hickeringill fired a gun in order to scare the ducks away from Keeble’s pond. Keeble sued Hickeringill for interfering in his business. A verdict was entered in favor of Keeble, awarding […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Pierson v. Post, New York Court of Appeals, (1805) Case summary for Pierson v. Post: Post was a fox hunter in pursuit of a specific fox. Before Post was able to mortally injure or physically catch the fox, Pierson began to pursue and eventually catch the same fox. Post brought an action against Pierson […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Katko v. Briney, 183 N.W.2d 657 (1971) Case Summary of Katko v. Briney: Defendants set up a spring gun to guard against people trespassing into their unoccupied farmhouse. Plaintiff broke into the house and was seriously injured by the spring gun. At trial, Plaintiff won a verdict of $20,000 actual, and $10,000 punitive, damages. Defendant […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Shelley v. Kraemer, 344 U.S. 1 (1948). Case Summary of Shelley v. Kraemer: In two companion cases, two African-American families were denied the use of land that they purchased due to race-based restrictive covenants placed on those properties. The State Supreme Courts of Missouri and Michigan allowed the deprivation of the property based on the […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1878). Case Summary of Pennoyer v. Neff: An attorney, Mitchell, sued Neff in Oregon state court. Neff did not live in Oregon. Mitchell served notice of the suit by publication, not by personal service. Once Mitchell received a default judgment against Neff, Mitchell sold property Neff owned in Oregon […]
Read moreThe concept of riparian rights refers to the rights of all landowners whose properties connect to a running body of water, such as a river or stream. More specifically, the term refers to their right to make “reasonable use” of the water that flows either through or over their properties. Examples of riparian rights include swimming, boating, or fishing. To […]
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