The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law

Thomas W. Merrill is a professor of law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches in the areas of property, environmental law, natural resources, administrative law, and legislation. After graduating from Grinnell College and Oxford University, he received his J.D. from the University of Chicago, and then clerked for the Hon. David Bazelon, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the Hon. Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court. Henry E. Smith is a Fessenden Professor of law at Harvard Law School, where he directs the Project on the Foundations of Private Law and teaches in the areas of property, intellectual property, natural resources, remedies, and taxation.

"Merrill and Smith, both renowned scholars of property law, apply an accessible theoretical framework to illuminate principles that govern the resolution of disputes over resources. This sunlight brings ancient-and, in some instances, superficially musty-doctrines to life." --Robert Ellickson Walter E. Meyer Professor of Property and Urban Law, Yale Law School"Merrill and Smith's book is nothing short of a marvel. It gives shape and direction to a field often considered to be diffuse and unmanageable. This volume is full of ideas that enliven all aspects of property law, showing the reader why these topics are interesting and topical." --Carol M. Rose Lohse Chair in Water and Natural Resources, The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law

• TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 The Institution of Property 3Exclusion and the Bundle of Rights 6The Thing's the Thing 11General Justifications, General Concerns 14Further Reading 20 CHAPTER 2 Original Acquisition and the Scope of Property Claims 21First Possession 22Discovery and Creation 28Accession 35Adverse Possession 39Sequential Possession, Finders, and the Relativity of Title 45The Mosaic of Acquisition Principles 46Further Reading 47 CHAPTER 3 The Domain of Property 49The Demsetz Theory 49Personhood Constraints 57Inherently Public Property 62Hybrid Resources 66Further Reading 71 CHAPTER 4 Owners as Gatekeepers 73Laws for Owner Protection 74Self-Help 79Exceptions to the Right to Exclude 83Owner Powers 93Further Reading 103 CHAPTER 5 Dividing Property Rights 105Estates and Future Interests 105How the System Works 116Co-Ownership 126Marital Interests 131Further Reading 135 CHAPTER 6 Managing Property 137Why Separate Management Authority from Other Incidents of Ownership? 139Leasing 144Common Interest Communities 160Trusts 167Further Reading 171 CHAPTER 7 Land Transactions and Title Records 173Land Sale Contracts 173Title Records 181Mortgages 192Further Reading 198 CHAPTER 8 Neighbors and Neighborhood Effects 199The Coase Theorem 201Tort Liability: Nuisance 208Modification of Property Rights: Easements 217Contract: Covenants Running with the Land 225Further Reading 240 CHAPTER 9 Government Forbearance 243The General Form of the Problem 244Sources of Forbearance 249The Rule of Law. 253Explicit Takings 262Regulatory Takings 272Further Reading 280