12. A man conveyed the eastern half of a tract of vacant land to a woman by a warranty deed. The woman promptly recorded the deed. The land conveyed to the woman fronted on a public highway. The land retained by the man was landlocked.   One year later, the man died intestate, leaving a cousin as his only heir. The cousin visited the man’s land for the first time and discovered that it had no access to a public highway. A neighbor who owned adjoining land fronting on the public highway offered to sell the cousin a right to cross the neighbor’s land for access to the highway. Although the neighbor’s price was reasonable, the cousin rejected the offer. The woman has refused to allow the cousin to cross her land for access to the public highway even though the woman’s land is still vacant.   The cousin has sued the woman, seeking access across the woman’s land to the public highway.   Who is likely to prevail?

24. David owns two adjoining parcels of property, Blackacre and Whiteacre. Powerlines crossing the adjacent parcels carry power from Blackacre to Whiteacre. David sells Whiteacre to Steve for industrial use. In order to allow Steve’s use of Whiteacre, at the time of the sale of Whiteacre, David granted Steve access through Blackacre for electric power lines that cross Blackacre. The deed from David to Steve does not refer to the power lines or to Steve’s ability to access them via Blackacre. Over the next six months, Steve spent $25,000 in order to prepare the property for his industrial operations. Over the following year, Steve accessed the power to conduct his operations on Whiteacre through the power lines crossing Blackacre. If David later tries to deny Steve’s ability to access the property, Steve should argue that:

6. April owned Greyacre, a vacant tract of land. April agreed to sell it to Derek for $200,000. April then conveyed the signed deed to Greyacre to Tom, an escrow officer, with written instructions to record the deed and deliver it to Derek upon receipt of the $200,000. Two weeks later, April learned that a rezoning of the property had been approved, making the property much more valuable. She sent an email to Tom cancelling the sale of Greyacre to Tom, and demanding the return of her deed. Tom replied that Derek had deposited the required funds on the prior day and Tom had recorded the deed and delivered it to Derek.  What is the most likely result?

8. Crystal sold her 10-acre lot of vacant land to Monica for $100,000. At closing, Crystal delivered a deed to Monica. Shortly after closing the purchase, Monica realized that there was an easement to the local sewer company to use the vacant land as a holding ground for their garbage trucks. If Monica sues Crystal for breach of covenant and loses, which of the following, if true, would provide the strongest legal argument for Monica losing?

22. Russell owns 30 acres of vacant property and plans to use it for residential development. Without Russell’s permission, the United States Postal Service installed a permanent mailbox on one corner of the property. The mailbox was mounted on a wooden fence post placed in a concrete slab, and takes up approximately 2.5 square feet of land. Russell demanded that the mailbox be removed, as he does not want to receive mail at this property which he rarely visits, and does not want his mail to be stolen. If Russell files an action seeking a determination that the mailbox constitutes a taking of his property without just compensation, what is the most likely outcome?

21. A man conveyed land by quitclaim deed as a gift to his cousin, who did not then record the deed or take possession of the land. Six months later, when the man was still in possession, he conveyed the land by quitclaim deed as a gift to a friend, who knew nothing of the deed to the cousin. The friend did not record his deed. The man then vacated the land, and the friend took possession.   The recording act of the jurisdiction provides as follows: “No unrecorded conveyance or mortgage of real property shall be good against subsequent purchasers for value without notice, who shall first record.”   Recently, the cousin learned about the friend’s deed and possession, immediately recorded her deed, and sued the friend for possession and to quiet title. The friend then recorded his deed and raised all available defenses.   For whom is the court likely to decide?

Questions 18 – 19 are based on the following fact situation: 19. In August 1990, Grace and Jack, madly in love, decided to move in together without the benefit of marriage and to camp permanently on some forest land owned by a company, Woodco. Being free-spirited, Grace and Jack continued to live on the land, gradually building a log cabin and raising fruit and vegetables in a nearby garden plot. Woodco employees periodically asked Grace and Jack to leave, but their requests were ignored. In September 2006, Jack left the cabin for a 12-month boat trip around the world, while Grace stayed home at the cabin. Jack returned in December of 2007 and the couple’s relationship was different. In October 2011, Grace and Jack had a huge fight and Grace moved out. Jack has continued to live in the cabin to this day. Woodco now wants to quiet its title to the land on which the cabin sits. The statute of limitations in this state is 20 years.If Grace sues Woodco for quiet title to the cabin property, she will probably:

PART I: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (One Hour – 30 Questions) Select the best answer out of the available choices.1. Teresa holds title to Blueacre in fee simple absolute. Teresa, believing that Blueacre would be a lovely site for a meditation garden, grants Blueacre “to the City of Rosebury, but if the land is no longer used as a meditation garden, then to Teresa.” What is the correct description of the estate?

16. Developer planned the development of a condominium project in Cotton County. In connection with the plans, Developer recorded a master deed, which included restrictions on the use of the condominium property by the eventual owners of the property, including a restriction banning all satellite dishes for television reception. Zach purchased his condo from the Developer, subject to all covenants in the master deed. Daniella also purchased her condo from Developer, subject to all restrictions set forth in the master deed. Daniella arranged for a satellite dish to be installed at her condo. Zach brought a suit seeking an injunction against installation of the satellite dish.  What is the most likely outcome?

Question 2   Larry was always short of cash and owed money to his friend Moe. Looking for a way to raise money fast, he came up with a scheme by which he could raise money fast and get Moe off his back.   On April 1, Larry approached his friend Harry and offered to purchase Stoogeacre, which Harry owned, for $100,000. Harry agreed, and he and Larry executed a valid sale contract for the sale of Stoogeacre. The contract was not recorded, and closing was scheduled for May 1.   On April 15, Larry approached his friend Curly and offered to sell Stoogeacre to Curly for $150,000. Curly jumped at the offer, and Larry conveyed Stoogeacre to Curly via a valid general warranty deed. Curly recorded the deed on April 30. The sale from Harry to Larry closed on May 1, and Larry recorded the deed on May 5.   Larry owed Moe $50,000. On May 10, Larry offered to convey to Moe his interest in Stoogeacre in satisfaction of Larry’s debt to Moe. Moe agreed, and Larry executed a valid quitclaim deed conveying Stoogeacre to Moe on May 15. Moe did not record his deed. Moe immediately began building a single-family residence on Stoogeacre, which he completed on July 15 and promptly moved in.   On July 1, Larry approached his friend Shemp and offered to sell Stoogeacre to him for $50,000. Shemp agreed on the spot to purchase Stoogeacre, and Larry conveyed Stoogeacre to Shemp via general warranty deed on July 10. Shemp promptly recorded the deed.   On July 20, Shemp visited Stoogeacre for the very first time and found Moe living there. He commenced a quiet title action to determine ownership of Stoogeacre.   1.              Who is likely to be deemed the owner of Stoogeacre: Curly, Moe, or Shemp? 2.              What recourse would Curly, Moe, and Shemp have against Larry if not deemed owner of Stoogeacre?