Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 122: Listen and Learn -- Easements (Real Property)
On 8 May 2024, the Court of Appeal in Drax Smart Generation Holdco Ltd v Scottish Power Retail Holdings Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 477 (“Drax”) handed down judgment overturning the decision of the High Court, finding that the...more
Breaking news from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit involving the case of RJ's International Trading, LLC vs. Crown Castle South, LLC. The court has certified a pivotal question to the Florida...more
CASES OF NOTE - CHANGING LANDSCAPE FOR ACCELERATED RENT CLAUSES IN COMMERCIAL LEASES Cummings Properties, LLC v. Hines, 21-P-1153 (Mass. App. Ct. Sept. 9, 2022) The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently considered...more
Under California law, a grant deed is generally understood to transfer the entire fee title interest in real property, unless it expressly states otherwise. (See, e.g., Civil Code sections 1105 and 1113.) If the seller wants...more
The central issue in the Texas case of Cook v. Cimarex Energy Co.: Did Cook grant Cimarex a right of way across Cook’s land to the location of two Cimarex wells. No he didn’t. Reversing the trial court, the court of appeals...more
Developing a successful solar project begins with selecting the right project site and identifying real estate issues and risks during diligence. Having well drafted real estate contracts and conducting detailed real estate...more
In Texan Land & Cattle II, Ltd. v. ExxonMobil Pipeline Company a Texas court of appeals ruled that “oil or gas” is not limited to “crude petroleum,” but includes refined petroleum products gasoline and diesel....more
Today is a two-fer. The questions: When does the “merger doctrine” not work in Texas, and how do courts treat technological developments created after a contract becomes effective?...more
As any seasoned developer knows, condominium development projects involve a delicate interplay between the developer, unit owners, the condo association, and the lenders that fund construction and acquisition costs. Last...more
If a Buyer breaches an Agreement of Sale and refuses to buy the property, can the Seller seek specific performance as a remedy? A 2019 Superior Court decision concluded yes....more
A utility company that provides service to an owner’s property usually requests the owner to sign a standard form of easement that is intended to allow the utility company to enter onto owner’s property in order to install...more
Email is the way we communicate these days. Whether emails create a contract is important if you’re thinking nothing short of a dead tree could ever bind anybody or, to the contrary, your goal is to establish an enforceable...more
What does it take these days to get money from a Texas jury? Not much, it seems; in XTO v. Goodwin the trick was convincing a higher court that you should keep it....more
BNSF v. Chevron Midcontinent LP et al. asked whether a 1903 deed granted BNSF’s predecessor a strip of land in fee simple absolute or only an easement. The result: BNSF holds only an easement. There’s more to the case than an...more
Neither the courts of Texas nor Louisiana have directly addressed the meaning of the word “replace” in the context of a pipeline easement and, in particular, whether replacement requires the removal of the old pipeline or...more