Sample Personal Property Essay Question - professorbeyer.com

PROPERTY PRACTICE QUESTIONS
PERSONAL PROPERTY ESSAY
REVIEW SESSION ONE
Gerry W. Beyer
Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law
On a clear Lubbock morning, you awake at 5:30 a.m., struggle out of bed, and look
out of your second floor apartment window. As you gaze across the horizon, your
attention is suddenly caught by a object on the ground in your neighbor’s yard that
sparkles brightly in the light of the full moon on top of the freshly cut grass. Hurriedly,
you get dressed and rush outside to investigate. You discover a small gold-colored box
and pick it up. As you get ready to open it, your neighbor throws open her door and says,
“I saw the box first — hand it over, now!” Not wanting to share your windfall, you race
back into your building clutching the box. In the safety and comfort of your apartment,
you open the box and discover it contains $1,000 in cash.
You shower and get dressed for another exciting day at Tech Law. On your way to
school, you stop by Computer Repairs R Us to pick up your computer which you had
brought in for repair. You give the clerk your claim check and the clerk walks to the
back to get your PC. After about ten minutes of waiting, the clerk returns and tells you,
“Your PC is not here. Sorry. I remember giving it to someone who looks almost like
you.”
After arriving at school, you walk down to the Bookstore and purchase, with cash,
some artificial enhancement of classroom performance materials (“canned briefs”). Later
in the day, you hear on the radio that the vendor from whom the Bookstore purchased the
canned briefs is having financial difficulties and that the vendor’s creditors are starting to
repossess all of the vendor’s inventory of books, including canned briefs.
You then check your mail slot and find a note from me explaining that I am revoking
the door prize you won at one of the review sessions. I explain how I made a big mistake
giving you that prize because I really wanted to give it to Margaret as a birthday present.
You return home in the evening and partake in a tall cool glass of water and reflect
on your day. Soon, you realize that you may have some claims to property and you may
have to defend some attacks on your property rights. All of a sudden, you are overcome
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PROPERTY PRACTICE QUESTION – PERSONAL PROPERTY – REVIEW SESSION ONE
by the desire to write a memorandum discussing these matters. You succumb to these
feelings and prepare the memo. You also are compelled to organize the issues into a
logical framework, to concentrate on spotting as many issues as possible, to discuss the
applicable legal principles, and to give your opinion (with reasons) as to the likely
resolution of the issues. Remember that you have only two pages for your answer – you
must plan carefully so be sure to evaluate the importance of each issue and stress those
issues which are most important.
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