Property (B1) -- Fall 2025 -- Syllabus

Property (B1)

Fall 2025
Professor Schnably
Office, Office Hours, and Faculty Assistant

You Must Read These Carefully Before the First Class: Course Policies

Course Policies

Please make sure you are familiar with these policies and any others I mention in class.

Assignments for Class; Syllabus

Classroom, Meeting Times, and Other Important Dates

Classroom: E265
Class Meeting Times: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 10:40 am - 12:10 pm
Calendar Dates to Note:
- Monday, August 18: First class meeting.
- Monday, Sept. 29: Mandatory Practice Mid-Term Exam: 10:40 am - 12:10 pm. Closed book.
- The week of October 6-10 (Fall Break): No classes.
  - Note: As indicated on the Miami Law Academic Calendar for 2025-2026, the Fall Break may instead be used for makeup classes if the Law School as a whole experiences an interruption this Fall (e.g., because of a hurricane).
- Monday, November 24: Last class meeting.

Dean’s Fellow

Casey Galvin
E-mail: cbg59@miami.edu
The meetings will be Mondays from 1:30-2:30 (room TBA) and Fridays 9:30-10:30 am (Zoom). There will be no Dean’s Fellow meetings the first week of classes. You will be able to find the schedule for Dean’s Fellow sessions in all your courses through the Academic Achievement Program page, once it is updated.

Books, Supplements, and Recordings of Classes

Required:
1. Alexander, Strahilevitz, and Schleicher, Dukerminier & Krier’s Property (Concise Edition) (4th ed. 2024) (referred to in this Syllabus as “CB”)
  - Note: this is not Dukeminier, Krier, Aldexander, Schill, and Strahilevitz, Property (10th ed. 2022). In case of doubt, check the last page number:
    - ✓ Alexander et al., Concise Edition (4th ed. 2024): page 743
    - ✗ Dukeminier et al. (10th ed. 2022): page 1221
2. Supplementary Materials, pp. 1-307 (referred to in this Syllabus as “Supp.”).
  - Paper copy: You can purchase a three-hole punch copy at the Copy Center (Law Library, Room B207 [map]).
3. Additions to the Supplementary Materials:
  - Supp. 159A-159L: Comments on the Recording Statute problems at Supp. 159
  - Revised pp. 162-163 of the Supplement
  - Supp. 254A-254O: Comments on the Grants at Supp. 254
  - Supp. 276A-276M: Comments on the Perpetuities Problems at Supp. 276
4. Other Materials related to the Syllabus:
  - Tapscott v. Lessee of Cobbs: Timelines and Briefing
  - Guillette v. Daly Dry Wall, Inc.
  - Housing Discrimination PowerPoints: pptx pdf
Not Required, But May Be Worth Considering Later in the Semester:
- Owen L. Anderson, A Student’s Guide to Estates in Land and Future Interests (4th ed. 2024), or any prior edition:
  - Laurence, Anderson & Minzner, A Student’s Guide to Estates in Land and Future Interests (3d ed. 2012)
  - Laurence & Minzner, A Student’s Guide to Estates in Land and Future Interests (2d ed. 2001)
  - Laurence & Minzner, A Student’s Guide to Estates in Land and Future Interests (1st ed. 1993), which you can find in the Course Reserve at the Law Library.
- You may well be able to master estates and future interests based on the material in the casebook and problems I will give you and which we will discuss in class. But if you would like additional material that tracks the approach we will take in class, the Student’s Guide to Estates and Future Interests can be helpful. Buy the cheapest copy you can find; there is no advantage in getting the most recent edition.
- You may well want to wait until we have started Estates and Future Interests to decide.
Recordings of Classes:
- Recordings of classes will be automatically uploaded to the Property (B1) Blackboard page. To access them, go to the Blackboard page for this course and look for the link to Class Recordings on the menu, under Academic Resources. This is the only function for which you will need Blackboard. No course materials will be posted on it. (Nor will you use the Blackboard page for attendance functions. Please be sure to review the Course Policies for information on the attendance policy.)
- You can find the recording of the November 7 make-up class through this link.
- I do not recommend regularly viewing videos of classes you have attended, but if you are absent from class then you will be able to see what was discussed that day. You might also occasionally find a recording helpful to review particular discussions of the materials.
Optional:
- Background Reading (only if you want to read more during the semester):
  - Dale A. Whitman & Ann M. Burkhart, Law of Property (2019)
  - Herbert Hovenkamp, Principles of Property Law (2016).
- Callahan v. Nelson, No. 2024-1099-BWD (11/14/2025) (partition of joint personal property)

Final Exam, Course Grading, Practice Mid-Term Exam, Practice Questions, and Past Final Exam Packet

The Exams and Grading page has information on grading, the final exam, the mandatory Practice Mid-Term Exam, Practice Questions, and information on how to get a packet of past final exams (available as of November 7, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.).

Assignments for Class

Current Assignments: check this page for assignments for the current week; assignments for the following week typically posted Friday
Past Assignments: check this page for past assignments

Syllabus

I may adjust the Syllabus as the semester progresses, depending on how quickly we move through the material. If I make any changes to it I will highlight what has changed.

I. Introduction

The Right to Exclude
1. U.S. State Law
  1. Jacque v. Steenberg Homes, Inc.; Commonwealth v. Magadini
    CB 42-50 (through Note 2); CB 52 (“Homelessness in America”)
  2. Iron Bar Holdings LLC v. Cape
    CB 50 (starting with Note 3)-52
    Supp. 1-3
2. Comparative Perspectives: The Right to Roam: Britain and Other Countries
  Comparative Perspectives on Property Rights (The CROW Act), Supp. 4-6
  Supp. 7-21
  Supp. 22-24 (Dartwall v. Dartmoor Nat’l Park Auth.)
  Supp. 25-26 (The European Convention on Human Rights)
How Law Is Made: Migrant Farmworkers
1. Common Law
  Supp. 27-30 (State v. Shack)
2. Statute
  Supp. 31-39 (Fla. Stat. §§ 381.008-381-00897)
Relativity of Title: Tapscott v. Lessee of Cobbs
Supp. 40-46

II. Transfers of Ownership: Voluntary & Involuntary

Involuntary Transfers
1. Eminent Domain
  CB 628-637
  Supp. 47-52
2. Adverse Possession
  1. The Common Law
    1. Theory; Elements
      CB 134-136, 141-142 (Note “The Open and Notorious Requirement” and “Owning below and above the surface”)
    2. Chaplin v. Sanders
      CB 136-140, 141(beginning with “Color of Title and constructive adverse possession”)-143
    3. Howard v. Kunto: Continuity, Tacking, and Disabilities
      CB 143-150
    4. Improving Trespassers/Mistaken Improvers
      Supp. 53-57
  2. The Florida Adverse Possession Statute
    1. General
      Supp. 58-63
      Supp. 64-66 (through Note 2) (Analysis of Florida Adverse Possession Statute & Related Materials)
    2. Border Strips
      Supp. 66 (Note 3)-75
    3. Squatting
      Supp. 76-101
Voluntary Transfers: Gifts of Personal Property
CB 159-175
Voluntary Transfers: The Sale of Land
1. Introduction
  CB 353-369
  Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 5.0: pdf (this may be a little easier to read than the version in the casebook)
2. Risk Management: Disclosure, Warranties, Equitable Conversion, and Deeds
  1. Caveat Emptor; The Duty to Disclose
    1. Caveat Emptor
      Supp. 102-105
    2. Duty to Disclose
      CB 378-383 (through Note 4)
      Supp. 106-122 (you need only skim these to get a sense of the kinds of contexts in which issues relating to a duty to disclose might arise)
      Supp. 123-133 (selected disclosure statutes)
3. The Warranty of Habitability or Quality
  CB 384 (“The Implied Warranty of Quality”)
  Supp. 134-140 (McDonald v. Mianecki & Fla. statute)
4. Florida Bar Exam Question
  Supp. 141
5. Equitable Conversion
  CB 377-378
  Supp. 142-143 (Questions on Equitable Conversion); CB 355-368
6. Deeds
  CB 388-391 (Warranties of Title; Notes and Questions: The Deed)
  CB 394 (2. Delivery)
  Supp. 144-145 (Fla. Stat. ch. 689.29 and Legislative History)
  Supp. 146
7. Mortgages
  1. Introduction
    CB 394-397
    Supp. 147-153; Supp. 154-155 (optional)
  2. Foreclosure
    CB 398-404
  3. Mortgage Alternatives
    CB 416-422
8. Recording Statutes
  1. Introduction; Title Recording and Searches
    CB 423-426; 432-433 (Notes 1 & 3)
  2. Types of Recording Acts
    CB 433-437
    Supp. 156-158 (Parsing Statutes)
  3. Recording Acts in Action
    Problems 1-10, Supp. 159
    Supp. 161 (Estoppel by deed)
    CB 435 (The shelter rule) (review)
  4. Covenants and the Chain of Title; Inquiry Notice
    CB 443-444, 447-449 (Chain of Title Problems), 449-454 (Inquiry Notice)

III. Forms of Ownership and Possession

Concurrent Ownership
1. Introduction
  CB 239-244
2. Partition
  CB 244-245, 251-253
3. Sharing the Benefits and Burdens of Co-ownership
  CB 254-260 (through Note 4)
  Supp. 244 (Fla. Stat. § 689.15)
4. Marital Interests
  CB 262-269
Landlord-Tenant Law
1. The Creation and Characteristics of the Landlord-Tenant Relationship
  CB 273-278
2. Unlawful Discrimination in the Rental of Property
  CB 283-296 (through Note 7); CB 296-298 (Note 8) (optional)
  Supp. 162-163
  Housing Discrimination PowerPoints: pptx pdf
  Supp. 221-225 (Discrimination against Holders of Housing Vouchers)
3. Assignment and Sublease
  1. The Distinction between Assignment and Sublease
    CB 298-305
  2. The Landlord’s Consent to Assignment or Sublease
    CB 305-313
    Supp. 186 (Fla. Stat. § 83.595)
4. The Implied Warranty of Habitability
  1. Common Law
    339-350
  2. The Florida Statute
    Supp. 164-191 (the Florida Statute)
    Supp. 192-200 (Miami-Dade County Tenants Bill of Rights) Supp. 201-227 (Questions on the Florida Residential Landlord Tenant Statute)
Estates & Future Interests: Present Possessory Estates
As you read the material below, consider the Grants at Supp. 254. We will discuss them in class. Also, for background and overview, read CB 177-182. In addition, the chart at CB 223 has a useful overall summary. Note that we will not cover the fee tail.
1. The Fee Simple
  CB 182-185
  Supp. 242-243 (Fla. Stat. § 689.10)
2. The Life Estate
  CB 187-195, 211-212
3. Defeasible Fees
  1. Fee Simple Determinable; Fee Simple Subject to a Condition Subsequent; Fee Simple Subject to an Executory Interest
    CB 196-199 [Note: Ignore the last paragraph on CB 198 and the first paragraph on CB 199]
    CB 205-206 (Notes 4 & 5)
    Supp. 244-245 (Fla. Stat. § 689.18)
    Supp. 255-258
    Supp. 259-273 (optional)
  2. Review Problems
    CB 206-207
Estates & Future Interests: Future Interests
If you want extra reading for III.D, take a look at Chapters 2-5 of Laurence & Minzner (or Laurence, Anderson & Minzner, depending on which edition you look at) (on Future Interests Before 1536; The Family of Remainders; Present and Future Interests After 1536; and Later Modification of the Basic Common Law).
1. Introduction; Future Interests in a Transferor
  CB 209-213
  Supp. 255-258
2. Future Interests in a Transferee
  1. Remainders
    CB 213-218
    Supp. 244 (Fla. Stat. §§ 689.17, 689.175)
  2. Executory Interests
    CB 218-220
    Supp. 274-275
  3. Review Problems
    CB 220-223
Estates & Future Interests: The Rule Against Perpetuities
1. Mechanics
  CB 223-225 (through Note 1), 226-236
  Supp. 277-280
  Supp. 274-275 (review)
  Supp. 244-245 (Fla. Stat. § 689.18) (review)
  Supp. 281-283 (optional)
  Supp. 284-285 (optional)
2. Reforms
  CB 236-237
  Supp. 244 (§ 689.13); Supp. 246-249 (§ 689.225)

IV. Private Land Use Regulation

Easements, Covenants, and Servitudes
1. Overview
  CB 481-482
2. Easements and Licenses
  1. Overview
    CB 483-484, 490-491
    CB 494-502 (Van Sandt v. Royster)
    Supp. 130-133 (Fla. Stat. § 683.301) (review)
    Supp. 301-304
    Supp. 305-306 (optional)
  2. Easements by Prescription; Negative Easements
    CB 511-513, 529-530
  3. Scope
    CB 513-522
  4. Termination
    CB 527-529
3. Real Covenants and Equitable Servitudes
  Note: You are not responsible for the material in Section IV.A.3 on the final exam.
  1. Creation, Application, and Enforcement
    1. Overview/Historical Background
      CB 530-534
      Supp. 301-304 (Review)
    2. Tulk v. Moxhay
      CB 534-539