PROPERTY NOTES The right and interest which a man has in lands and chattels to the exclusion of others. The sale and despotic dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world in total exclusion of the right of any other individual in the universe The right to possess, use, enjoy, and dispose of a thing The free use and enjoyment by a person of all his acquisitions, without any control or diminution, save only by the law of the land. An aggreg aggregate ate of right rights s which which are are guara guarante nteed ed and and protec protected ted by the govern governmen ment, t, and, and, in the ordinary sense, indicates indicates the thing itself, rather than the rights attached to it. It embraces embraces every species species of valuable valuable right and interest, interest, includin including g real real and personal personal property, property, easements, franchises, and hereditaments. All things are not the subject of property; the sea, the air and the like cannot be appropriated; everyone may enjoy them, but he has no exclusive right in them. When things are fully our own, or when all others are excluded from meddling with them or from interfering about them, it is plain that no person besides the proprietor, who has the exclusive right, can have any claim either to use them, or to hinder him from disposing disposing of them as he pleases: pleases: so that property property,, consider considered ed as an exclusive exclusive right to things, contains not only a right to use those things, but a right to dispose of them, either by exch exchan angi ging ng them them for for othe otherr thin things gs or by givi giving ng them them away away to any any othe otherr pers person on with withou outt any any consideration, consideration, or even throwing them away. The ownership of property implies its use in the prosecution of any legitimate business which is not a nuisance in itself.
I.
Movable and Immovable [See. RA 10066] A. Immovable Immovables s – property property which, which, from its nature, nature, destination destination,, or the object object to which which it is applied, applied, cannot move itself or be removed B. Movables Movables 1. Such subjects of property as attend attend a man’s person wherever wherever he goes, in contradistinction contradistinction to things immovable 2. Things movable by their nature are such as may be carried from one place to another, or cannot be removed without an extraneous power, as inanimate things 3. Movables are further distinguished distinguished into such as are in possession, possession, or which are are in the power of the owner, and such as are in the possession of another, and can only be recovered by action, which are therefore said to be in action, as a debt. II. II. Abso Absolu lute te or Qual Qualif ifie ied d ABSOLUTE QUALIFIED that that whic which h is our our own own with withou outt any any consists in the right which man have qualification qualification whatever over wild animals which they have reduc reduced ed to their their own posses possessio sion, n, and and which are kept subject to their power a bail bailee ee of good goods, s, thou though gh not not the the owner, has a qualified property in them; while the owner has the absolute property Property in personal goods may be absolute or qualified without any relation to the nature of the subject-matter, but simply because more persons than one have an interest in it, or because the right of property is separated from the possession. III. Corpor Corporeal eal and and Incorp Incorpore oreal al CORPOREAL INCORPOREAL comprehends such property as is consists in legal rights, as choses in perceptible to the senses, as lands, action, easements, and the like houses, goods, merchandise, and the like IV. Use is the real real side side of proper property. ty. The right of using a thing indefinitely is an essential quality of absolute property, without which absolute property can have no legal existence. This right of user necessarily includes the •
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V. A.
B.
C.
VI. VI.
right and power of excluding others from the land. From the very nature of these rights of user and of exclusion, it is evident that they cannot be materially abridged without, ipso facto, taking the owner’s property. If the right of indefinite user is an essential element of absolute property or complete ownership, whatever physical interference annuls this right, takes property, although the owner may still have left to him available rights in the article of a more limited and circumscribed nature. How How Prop Proper erty ty is Lo Lost st By the the act act of of man man 1. Alienati Alienation on a. But in order to do this the owner owner must have a legal capacity capacity to make a contract. 2. Voluntary Abandonment of the things a. But unless unless the abandonment abandonment be purely purely voluntary voluntary the title to the property property is not lost; as, if things be thrown into the sea to save the ship, the right is not lost. b. But But even even a volu volunt ntar ary y aban abando donm nmen entt does does not not depr depriv ive e the the form former er owne ownerr from from taki taking ng possession of the thing abandoned at any time before another takes possession of it. By opera operation tion of law law 1. By forced sale, sale, under a lawful lawful process of the property property of a debtor to satisfy satisfy a judgment judgment,, sentence or decree rendered against against him, to compel him to fulfill his obligations. 2. By confiscation, confiscation, or sentence of a criminal court 3. By prescrip prescription tion 4. By civil civil death death 5. By capture capture by a public enemy By the the act act of of God God 1. Death or total total destruction destruction of a thing thing In some cases, the moment that the owner loses his possession, he also loses his property or right in the things [Ex: Animals Ferae Naturae]. But, in general, the loss of possession does not impair the right of property, for the owner may recover it within a certain time allowed by law. Real Re al Prop Proper erty ty Land, and generally whatever is erected or growing upon or affixed to land; also rights issuing out of, annexed tom and exercisable within or about the same. Annexations made by a stranger to the soil of another without his consent becomes the property of the owner of the soil. Corporeal hereditaments hereditaments comprise land and whatever is erected or growing upon or affixed thereto, includin including g whatever whatever is beneath beneath or above above the surface. surface. Houses, Houses, trees, growing crops, and other articles affixed to the soil though usually classed as realty, may under certain circumstances and for certain purposes acquire the character of personalty. Profits which are the spontaneous fruits of the earth or its permanent fruits are real estate, but the corn and other growth of the earth which are produced annually by labor and industry, called fructus industriales industriales,, are regarded as personal chattels. A dam is not necessarily necessarily real estate. If built by one person on the land of another, with his consent, it would be personal estate. There are a large number of articles known as fixtures, which, though originally wholly movable and personal in their nature, have acquired, by having been affixed to real estate or applied to use in connection with it, the character of realty. The intention of the parties immediately concerned, who have agreed that property annexed to the soil shall retain its character as personalty, will prevail except as against purchasers (innocent) without notice, unless the property be of such nature that it necessarily becomes incorporated into and a part of the realty by the act and manner of annexation. Equity Equity will, will, in many many ins instan tances ces,, for the sake sake of enforc enforcing ing and and preser preservin ving g the right rights s of partie parties s interest interested, ed, regard regard realty as converted converted into realty, realty, although although no such change may actually actually have taken place. Trees are part of the real estate while growing and before they are severed from the freehold; but as soon as they are cut down they are personal property. Trees belong to the owner of the land where they grow. When the roots grow into the adjoining land, the owner of such land may lawfully claim a right to the hold the tree in common with the owner of the land where it was planted; but if the branches only overshadow the adjoining land, and the roots do not enter it, the tree wholly
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belongs to the owner of the estate where the roots grow. When the tree grows directly on the boundary line, so that the line passes through it, it is the property of both owners, whether it be marked as a boundary or not. The owner of trees in a highway is held to have no right of action for the necessary trimming of them for the installation of an electric-lighting system for the municipality. municipality. •
Hazlehurst v. Mayes, 36 South 33
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Moore v. Light Co., 79 S.E. 596
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Norman M. & G. Co. v. Bethurem, 139 Pac. 830
Where the branches of a tree growing upon the land of one person overhang that of his neighbor, one may, without notice, cut off so much of a tree as overhangs his land, if he can do so without going upon the land of the owner, and such owner cannot acquire, either by prescription or the statute of limitations, the right to overhang his neighbor’s land; and where a tree stands on the dividing line between adjoining lots, either owner may cut off branches or roots extending over his own land. •
Robinson v. Clapp, 32 Ath. 939
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Lyman v. Hale, 27 Am. Dec. 728
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Comfort v. Everhardt, 35 W.N.C. Pa. 364
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Gibson v. Denton, 38 NY Supp. 554
VII.
Public Use – implies the use of many, or by the public. It may be limited to the inhabitants of a small or restricted locality, but must be in common, and not for a particular individual. VIII VIII.. Emin Eminen entt Doma Domain in The superior right of property subsisting in a sovereignty, by which private property may in certain cases be taken or its use controlled for the public benefit, without regard to the wishes of the owner. The power to take private property for public use. The right of every government to appropriate otherwise than by taxation and its police authority (which are distinct powers) private property for public use. IX. Land Any ground, soil, or earth whatsoever; at common law, the term land has a two-fold meaning. In its more general sense, it includes any ground, soil, or earth whatsoever; in its more limited sense, the term land denotes the quantity and character of the interest or estate which the tenant may hold in land. The land is one thing, and the estate in land is another thing, for an estate in land is a time in land or land for a time. Land has been held to include servitudes, easements, rents and other incorporeal hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal, and to be synonymous with the terms real estate and real property. Land has an indefinite extent upward as well as downward; therefore, land legally includes all houses or other buildings standing or built on it, and whatever is in a direct line between the surface and the centre of the earth. All land is held subject to the right, in the state, of taxation and eminent domain. The right to put his land to the most profitable use for his own benefit is one of the landowner’s privileges, but how far this right extends has been the subject of much adjudication by the courts. X. Rights Real rights are rights of a person which are enforceable against all or the whole world. Personal Personal rights are the rights of person person enforceab enforceable le against against definite passive passive subjects subjects for the fulfillment of prestations which may be obligation to give, to do or not to do. Examples are a creditor’s right to collect a loan from a particular debtor and the right of an obligee to demand specific performance from an obligor. The object of real right is a specific corporeal thing while the object of personal right consists in the act or prestation of a particular particular obligor or debtor. Real right is enforceable against all while personal right is enforceable against definite persons. Real right is more or less permanent while personal right is merely temporary. The destruction of the object in real right extinguishes the right while the person personal al right right may may surviv survive e the thing’ thing’s s destru destructi ction on becau because se of the object object of person personal al right right is prestation.
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XI. A.
B.
C.
D.
XII.
XIII XIII..
XIV.
Limitations on ownership may be fixed by the Constitution, by statutes, or by voluntary acts like limitations fixed in contracts and wills. The traditional rights included in ownership are: 1. Right Right to use 2. Right Right to enjoy enjoy 3. Right Right to dispose dispose 4. Right Right to abuse abuse 5. Right Right to to recove recoverr 6. Right Right to possess possess Action Actions s for Recove Recovery ry of Proper Property ty Action Action to Eject Eject Within 1 year from the accrual of right MTC Forcible Entry; Unlawful Detainer Barangay certificate to file action required Action Action Publicia Publiciana na Recover possession after 1 year from the accrual of right but before 10 years. MTC/RTC = depending on value of property Action Reinvindicatoria Reinvindicatoria within 30 years from the accrual of right Recover ownership and possession within MTC/RTC = depending on value of property Replevin Replevin Recover personal property possessed by another; bond required MTC/RTC = depending on value of property Ownership/P Ownership/Posse ossession ssion distinguish distinguished ed Owner Owner not be entitl entitled ed to posses possessio sion n (tenan (tenant, t, lessee lessee,, posses possessor sor w/ right right to retai retain n until until indemnified for improvements made) Judgment for ownership doesn’t necessarily include possession Possession can ripen into ownership Owne Ow ners rshi hip p The right by which a thing belongs to someone in particular, to the exclusion of all others The entirety of the powers of use and disposal allowed by law; it implies that there is some power of disposal; but the owner of a thing is not necessarily the person who at a given time has the whole power of use and disposal Fleming v. Sherwood, 139 N.W. 101 • Owner He who has dominion of a thing, real or personal, corporeal or incorporeal, which he has a right to enjoy and do with as he pleases, even to spoil or destroy it, as far as the law permits, unless he be prevented by some agreement or covenant which retrains his right. Although there can be but one absolute owner of a thing, there may be a qualified ownership of the same thing by many. Thus, a bailor has the general ownership of the thing bailed, the bailee the special ownership. The right of the absolute owner is more extended than that of him who has only a qualified ownership: as, for example, the use of the thing. Thus, the absolute owner of an estate, that is, an owner in fee, may cut the wood, demolish the buildings, build new ones, and dig wherever he may deem proper for minerals, etc., which would be considered waste and would not be allowed in a qualified owner of the estate, as a lessee or a tenant for life. The owner continues to have the same right although he performs no acts of ownership or be disabled from performing them, and although another performs such acts without the knowledge or against the will of the owner. But the owner may lose his right in a thing if he permits it to remain in the possession of a third person for a sufficient time to enable the latter to acquire a title to it by prescription or under the statute of limitations. A person or entity with a right to control and dispose of an interest in real or personal property or for whose benefit such a right must be exercised.
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XV.
Benefici Beneficial al owner (also (also called called equitable equitable owner) owner) – a person person to whose whose benefit benefit another (the legal legal owner) holds property. Joint owner – one of the owners of equal undivided interests in property with right of survivorship; informally, any co-owner; a person who shares ownership of something with another person upon any legally feasible terms. Legal owner – a person with the actual legal right to control or dispose of an interest in property, either for his own benefit or as a trustee or constructive trustee for the benefit of another (the beneficial owner or equitable owner) Record owner – the person whose name appears in a public record as the owner of land and thus as the person liable for property taxes, or in the records of a corporation as the owner of stocks and thus as the person entitled to receive dividends dividends and vote on corporate matters. Owner Pro Hac Vice – one who has control of a ship pursuant to a bareboat charter from the true owner of the vessel; charterer of a vessel under a bareboat charter; demisee. Acce Access ssio ion n The doctrine of property arising from accessions is grounded on the rights of occupancy. It is said to be the 6 kinds in the Roman law: 1. That which which assigns assigns to the owner of a thing its products products,, as the fruits of trees, the young young of animals. 2. That which which makes a man the owner owner of a thing which is made of another’s another’s property property,, upon payment of the value of the material taken. As where wine, bread or oil is made of another man’s grapes or olives. 3. That which gives gives the owner of land new land land formed by gradual gradual deposit. 4. That which gives the owner of a thing the property in what is added to it by way of adorning or completing it, as if a tailor should use the cloth of B in repairing A’s coat, all would belong to A; but B would have an action against both A and the tailor for the cloth so used. 5. That which which gives islands islands formed formed in a stream to the owner of the adjacent adjacent lands on either either side. 6. That That which which gives gives a person person propert property y in things things added added to his own so that that they they cannot cannot be separated without damage. The right right to all which one’s one’s own proper property ty produ produces ces,, whethe whetherr that that prope property rty be movab movable le or immovable, and the right to that which is united to it by accessory, either naturally naturally or artificially. If a man raised a building upon his own ground with the material of another, or if a man shall have built with his own materials upon the ground of another, in either case the edifice becomes the property of him to whom the ground belongs; for every building is an accession to the ground upon which it stands; and the owner of the ground, if liable at all, is only liable to the owner of the materials for the value of them. And the same rule holds where trees, vines, vegetables, or fruits are planted or sown in the ground of another. If the materials of one person are united by labor to the materials of another, so as to form a single article, the property in the joint product is, in the absence of any agreement, in the owner of the principal part of the materials by accession. The increase of an animal, as a general rule, belongs to the owner of the dame or mother. The tree belongs to the owner of the land on which the root is, and its fruit is to the owner of the tree although limbs overhang a neighbor’s land. Where by agreement, an article is manufactured for another, the property in the article, while makin making g and and when when finish finished, ed, vests in him who furnis furnished hed the whole whole or the princip principal al part part of the materials; and the maker, if he did not furnish the same, has simply a lien upon the article for the pay. If, by the labor of one man, the property of another has been converted into a thing of different species, so that its identity is destroyed, the original owner can only recover the value of the property in its uncoverted state, and the article itself will belong to the person who wrought the conversion, if he wrought it believing the material to be his own. But, But, if there be a mere mere change change of form form or value value,, which which does does not destroy destroy the identi identity ty of the materials, the original owner may still reclaim them or recover their value as thus improved. So, if the change had been wrought by a willful trespasser, or by one who knew that the materials were
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not his own; in such case, however radical the change may have been, the owner may reclaim them or recover their value in their new shape. •
Wooden-Ware Co. v. US, 106 US 432
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Shyder v. Vaux, 21 Am. Dec. 466
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Betts v. Lee, 4 Am. Dec. 368
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Williard v. Rice, 45 Am. Dec. 226
XVI. XVI.
Accr Accret etio ion n The increase of real estate by the addition of portions of soil, by gradual deposition through the operatio operation n of natural natural causes, causes, to that already already in possessi possession on of the owner. (The term alluvion alluvion is applied to the deposit itself, while accretion rather denotes the act.) generall ally y conced conceded ed that that the ripar riparian ian title title attac attaches hes to subseq subsequen uentt accret accretion ions s to the land land It is gener effected by the gradual and imperceptible operation of natural causes. A reliction formed by the gradual drying up of a lake belongs to the riparian owners. • • • • •
XVII XVII..
XVII XVIII. I.
Ellinger v. R. Co., 20 S.W. 800 City of St. Louis v. R. Co., 21 S.W. 202 Poijuter v. Chipman, 32 Pac. 690 Noyes v. Collins, 61 N.W. 250 Ocean City Ass’n v. Shriver, 46 Atl. 690
Adju Adjunc ncti tion on The attachm attachment ent or union union perma permanen nently tly of a thing thing belong belongs s to one person person to that that belong belonging ing to another. (by inclusion, soldering, sewing, construction, writing, painting) In these cases, as a general rule, the accessory follows the principal; hence those things which are attached to the things of another become the property of the latter. The only exception which the civilians made was in the case of a picture, which, although an accession, drew to itself the canvas, on account of the importance which was attached to it. Allu Alluvi vion on That increase of the earth on a bank of a river, or on the shore of the sea, by the force of the water, as by a current or by waves, or from its recession in a navigable lake, which is so gradual that no one can judge how much is added at each moment of time. Conversely, where land is submerged by the gradual advance of the sea, the sovereign acquires the title to the part thereby covered and it ceases to belong to the former owner. The proprietor of the bank increased by alluvion is entitled to the addition, thus being regarded as the equivalent for the loss he may sustain from the encroachment of the waters upon his land. • •
Hagen v. Campbell, 33 Am. Dec. 267 Municipality No. 2 v. Cotton Press, 36 Am. Dec. 624
XIX. XIX.
Avul Avulsi sion on The removal of a considerable quantity of soil from the land of one man and its deposit upon or annexation to the land of another, suddenly and by the perceptible action of water. In such case, the property belongs to the first owner. • •
XX. XXI. XX I.
XXII XX II..
Bouvier v. Stricklett, 59 N.W. 550 County of St. Clair v. Lovingston, 23 L. Ed. 59
Reliction – an increase of the land by the retreat or recession of the sea or a river Impr Improv ovem emen ents ts Real Real or person personal al proper property ty effec effected ted by the expen expendit diture ure of labor labor or money money for the purpos purpose e of rendering it useful for other purposes than those for which it was originally used, or more useful for the same purposes. These include repairs or additions to buildings, and the erection of fences, barns, etc. As betw betwee een n the the righ rightf tful ul owne ownerr of land lands s and and an occu occupa pant nt who who in good good fait faith h has has put put on improvements, the land with its improvements belongs to the rightful owner of the land, without compensation for the increased value at common law, though the rule may be otherwise in equity, and by statute in some states. Appu Appurt rten enan ance ces s Things belonging to another thing as principal, and which pass as incident to the principal thing. The thing appurtenant must be of an inferior nature to the thing to which it is appurtenant.
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To constitute an appurtenance there must exist a propriety of relation between the principal or dominant subject and the accessory or adjunct, which is to be ascertained by considering whether they so agree in nature or quality as to be capable of union without incongruity. This, if a house and land be conveyed, everything thereof and which is in use as incident or appurtenant thereto. Under this term are included the cartilage, a right of way, easements, under some circumstances, a turbary, and generally, anything necessary to the enjoyment of a thing [but it is the general rule that land cannot pass as appurtenant to land]. Appurtenances of a ship include whatever is on board a ship for the objects of the voyage and adventure in which she is engaged, belonging to her owner [i.e. boats and cable; rudder and cordage; fishing-stores; chronometers] XXIII XX III.. Navi Naviga gable ble Wate Waters rs Those waters which afford a channel for useful commerce The test by which the chara characte cterr of a stream stream as public public or priva private te is deter determin mined, ed, is its navigability in fact. Common law: All rivers which are found of sufficient capacity to float the products of the mines, the forests, or the tillage of the country through which they flow, to market, or which are capa capabl ble e of use use for for the the floa floati ting ng of vess vessel els, s, boat boats, s, raft rafts, s, or logs logs are are subj subjec ectt to the the free free and and unobstructed navigation navigation of the public, independent of usage or of legislation. Navigable streams are highways. What is a navigable steam is a mixed question of law and fact.
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Morgan v. King, 91 Am. Dec. 58
The technical title to the beds of navigable rivers is a qualified one; it is subordinate to the public right of navigation and subject to the absolute power of congress over the improvement of navigable rivers. Lake A body of water surrounded by land, or not forming part of the ocean, and occupying a depression below the ordinary drainage level of the region. No riparian owner could acquire title to the bed of any lake however small.
XXIV.
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XXV.
Watuppa Reservoir Co. v. City of Fall River Shively v. Bowlby Gouverneur v. Ice Co. Stuart v. Greenyea State v. Narrows Island Club Priewe v. Imp. Co Madson v. Water Co.
18 N.E. 465 152 U.S. 13 31 N.E. 865 117 N.W. 655 5 S.E. 411 67 N.W. 918 82 Pac. 718
River A natural stream of water flowing betwixt banks or walls in a bed of considerable depth and width, being so called whether its current sets always one way or flows and reflows with the tide. At common law, the bed or soil of all rivers subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, to the extent of such ebb and flow, belongs to the state; the ownership of the state extends to the highwater mark.
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Webb v. Demopolis, 13 South 289 Kaukauna Water Power Co. v. Canal Co., 142 U.S. 254 Ensminger v. People, 95 Am. Dec. 495
The banks of public rivers are private property of the adjacent owners as fully as their other kind. The public has no right to land upon them or upon the share adjacent thereto. There is no right of way along the margin of lakes and navigable rivers unless acquired by express grant or prescription. prescription. The banks of a river are not subject to the servitude of use by navigators. They cannot land on the banks against the will of the owner except in case of peril, in which case vessels may land, either boat or cargo, at any point that safety may require. [See Water Code] Any obstruction of rivers without legislative authority is a nuisance, and any persons having occasion to use the river may abate the same, or if injured thereby, may receive his damages from its author.
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XXVI XX VI..
Spokane Mill Co. v. Post, 50 Fed. 429
Quie Quieti ting ng of Titl Title e
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Any instrume instrument, nt, record, record, claim, claim, encumbra encumbrance nce or proceedin proceeding g which which is apparen apparently tly valid valid or effective but is in truth and in fact invalid, ineffective, voidable, or unenforceable, and may be prejudicial prejudicial to said title… Cleansing… An action to quiet title of real property not in possession of another does NOT prescribe If the the real real prop proper erty ty is in poss posses essi sion on of anot anothe her, r, it may may be acqu acquir ired ed by acqu acquis isit itiv ive e prescription. Co-O Co-Own wner ersh ship ip Requisite Requisites s 1. Plurari Plurarity ty of of subje subjects cts 2. Unity of of object object [absence [absence of division] division] 3. Proportionate shares of such such subjects subjects How created created 1. By contracts contracts 2. By law law 3. By will will 4. By chance [confusion or commixtion] Kinds Kinds 1. Ordinary [where right of partition exists] 2. Compulsory [where [where right right of partition doesn’t doesn’t exist] exist] 3. Legal Legal [crea [created ted by law] law] 4. Contractu Contractual al 5. Univer Universal sal 6. Singular Singular/part /particula icularr Characteristics Characteristics 1. The co-owner’s share share in the property, although although definite in amount or size, is not physically physically and actually identified, it being merely an ideal. 2. A co-owner’s share share is absolutely owned owned by him and he may dispose dispose of it as he pleases; pleases; 3. In regard to the use, enjoyment enjoyment and preservati preservation on of the property, property, the co-owners co-owners observe mutual respect. Distinguished Distinguished from Partnership Partnership 1. Co-own Co-owners ership hip is creat created ed not only only by agreemen agreementt but also by law law and other other means means while while partnership is created by agreement only. 2. Purpose of partnership partnership is primarily primarily for profit, profit, while the purpose purpose of co-ownership co-ownership is principally principally common enjoyment of the property owned in common. 3. A co-owner may ordinarily sell to a 3 rd person his interest in the co-ownership without the consent of the other co-owners while a partner may not sell his interest in the partnership without the consent of his co-partners. co-partners. 4. Co-ownership is not not a juridical person person while a partnership partnership has its own juridical juridical personality. personality. 5. Death Death of a co-own co-owner er does not dissolv dissolve e the co-owner co-ownershi ship p while while the death death of a partn partner er dissolves the partnership. partnership. Distinguished Distinguished from Joint Tenancy 1. Disability [like [like minority] in joint joint tenancy inures to the benefit of the others others which is not true in co-ownership. co-ownership. 2. In case of death of a joint tenant, tenant, the survivor survivor is subrogated subrogated to the rights of the decedent decedent which is not true in co-ownership where the death of a co-owner transfers his share to his heirs. 3. A joint tenant tenant may transfer transfer or dispose dispose of his share only with the consent consent of the others; but no such consent is required in co-ownership. A co-owner’s share may be attached or levied upon in execution. Co-owned property cannot be validly partitioned in: Conjugal partnership [as long as it validly exists] Party wall Join Jointt Tenan Tenantt Joint tenancy exists where there has been a limitation of the same estate, by deed, will or parol, to two or more persons, without words of severance. Joint tenants are said to have four
XXVI XX VII. I. A.
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C.
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XXVI XX VIII II..
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unities, time, title, interest and possession. The estate of both must arise under the same limitation, but under the statute of uses the necessity that the titles of all the joint tenants should commence at the same time is avoided. Every kind of property, real and personal, may be so held. Neither a devise by one joint tenant nor an encumbrance created created by one joint tenant defeats the full right of the survivor. If one of two joint tenants dies, the survivor becomes solely entitled to the estate; but not as against a grantee inter vivos of one of the joint tenants; nor against a judgment debt on which execution had been levied in the lifetime of the debtor. The presumption is that all tenants holding jointly hold as tenants in common, unless a clear intention to the contrary be shown. Joint tenants at common law have no right to compulsory partition; they convey to each other other by relea release se,, in which which words words of inheri inherita tance nce are are unnece unnecess ssar ary. y. They They must must plead plead and and be impleaded jointly. Jus Accresendi The right of survivorship survivorship According to the general rule a person could not die partly testate and partly intestate, and if any part of the estate was unprovided for, either by the oversight of the testator or any of the heirs, it was ratably distributed among the heirs; so if the same thing were left to two or more persons each took an equal share; if one of them should die before he had received the legacy, the share of the one so dying passed to the remaining joint legatee or legatees by this right. It has been suggested that the germ of this right is to be found in the succession by necessity. Estate in Common An estate held in joint possession by two or more persons at the same time by several and distinct titles. This estate has the single unity of possession, and may be of real or personal property. Where one dies intestate, the joint ownership of his property by his children is generally that of tenants in common. Wate Water r Cour Course se This term is applied to the flow or movement of the water in rivers, creeks and other streams. A water-course is a stream of water flowing in a definite channel, having a bed and sides or banks and discharging itself into some other stream or body of water. There must be a supply which is permanent in the sense that similar conditions will always produce a flow of water in the same channel, and that the conditions recur with some degree of regularity, regularity, so that they establish and maintain for considerable considerable periods of time a running stream. The essential characteristics characteristics of a water course are a channel consisting of a well defined bed and banks, and a current of water. The bed, which is a definite and commonly a permanent channel, is the characteristic characteristic which distinguishes the water of a river from mere surface drainage flowing without definite course or certain limits, and from water percolating through the strata of the earth. The banks of a water course are the elevations which confine the waters tot their natural channel when they rise. The water of a water course must have a current. The flow of the water must usually be in one direction, and by a regular channel having both a source and a mouth. The controlling distinction between a water course and pond or lake is that in the former case, the water has a natural motion or a current, while in the latter the water is, in its natural state, substantially substantially at rest. And this is so independently of the size of the one or of the other. [In the absence of a permanent source of supply, there can be no water course in its legal sense.] Water ters Water is a movable, wandering thing, and must of necessity continue common by the law of nature. No one has any property in the water itself, except in that particular portion which he might have abstracted from the stream and of which he had the possession. Flowing water is PUBLICI JURIS, JURIS, not in the sense sense that it is BONUM BONUM VACANS VACANS,, to which the 1 st occupant occupant may acquire an exclusive right, but that it is public and common in this sense only, that none can have any • •
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XXX.
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property in the water itself, except in the particular portion which he may choose to abstract from the stream and take into his possession, and that during the time of his possession only. But each proprietor of the adjacent land has the right to usufruct of the stream which flows through it. That running water is publici juris and that no one could claim the ownership of the corpus of the water of a steam was held in U.S. v. Inv. Co, 156. Fed. 123. By the modern as well as the older authorities, the right of the riparian owner in the water is usufructuary, usufructuary, and consists not so much in the fluid itself or in its uses. The law does not recognize a riparian property property right in the corpus of the water. He has the right only to enjoy the advantage of a responsible use of the stream as it flows through the land, subject to a like right belonging to all other riparian proprietors. Water when reduced to possession is property, and it may be bought and sold and have a market value; but it must be in actual possession, subject subject to control and management. When stored in an artificial appliance or water course, it is personal property. The most most essen essentia tiall eleme element nt of an appro appropr priat iation ion of water water is appli applica catio tion n to a benefi beneficia ciall purpose. The right of a riparian proprietor proprietor on a non-navigable stream to the use of its ordinary flow of water water,, undim undimini inishe shed d by an unreas unreasona onable ble use by an upper upper propr propriet ietor, or, is not an easeme easement nt or appurtenance, but is inseparably annexed to the soil and is part and parcel of the land itself. One who diverts water from a flowing stream for a beneficial purpose may have the use of it so long as he conforms to the law regulating such matters. Riparian owners may not divert or sell running water for general use, and are limited in their own use of it to ordinary purposes incident incident to the enjoyment of the riparian land, and in exceptional cases to extraordinary uses upon the land itself, if such use does not unreasonably decrease the quantity of the water or impair its quality. But the extraordinary extraordinary use must be upon the riparian land. A riparian owner may construct a dam. It is not per se an improper structure as to lower owners. But a dam may not be constructed of such a height that it will back the water upon the lands of others. The doctrine of the civil law is that the owner of the upper or dominant estate has a natural easement or servitude in the lower or servient one, to discharge all waters falling or accumulating upon his land, which is higher, upon or over the land of the servient owner, as in a state of nature; and that such natural flow or passage of the water cannot be interrupted or prevented by the servient owner to the detriment or injury of the estate of the dominant or any proprietor… The doctrine of common law is that there exists no such natural easement or servitude in favor of the owner of the superior or higher ground or fields as to mere surface water, or such as falls or accumulates by rain or the melting of snow, and that he proprietor of the inferior or lower tenement or estate may, if he chooses, lawfully obstruct or hinder the natural flow of such water thereon, and in so doing may turn the same back upon or over the lands of other proprietors, without liability for injuries ensuing from such obstruction or diversion. • • • • • •
Hoyt v. Hudson, 9 Am. Rep. 473 Walker v. R. Co., 165 U.S. 593 Earl v. De Hart, 72 Am. Dec. 395 Ribordy v. Murray, 52 N.E. 325 Stillwater Water Co. v. Farmer, 99 Am. St. Rep. 541 Wadsworth v. Smith, 26 Am. Dec. 525
XXXI XX XI.. Poss Posses essi sion on A. Elemen Elements ts 1. The thing thing or corpus corpus 2. Intention to to possess possess – animus possidendi B. Form Forms s 1. Absolute ownership or valid title 2. Joint title [like possession possession of one who acts in good faith] faith] 3. Not in concept of owner but based based on a juridical juridical title as as possession of a lessee 4. Without any right right like possession possession of a property property stolen by a thief C. How acquired acquired 1. By the material occupation of a thing [physical apprehension which includes tradicion brevi manu and tradicion constitutum possessorium] possessorium ]
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2. By exerc exercise ise of a right right 3. By the fact that it is subject to the action of our will [ tradicion frisida; tradicion simbolica; tradicion longa manu] manu ] 4. By proper acts and legal legal formalities established established for acquiring acquiring property [like [like the possession given by the sheriff in accordance with proper legal steps] Acquisition in good faith refers to the possession in the concept of owner and not that of a lessee. If the owner uses force to obtain possession of property, the owner’s possession will not be legally recognized. Under Art. 539 – the possessor-movant should have been in prior, peaceful possession of the property A lessee, an employee, a pledge, an antichretic creditor, a trustee and a co-owner cannot claim title by acquisitive prescription because they possess the property not in the concept of owner. The detention or enjoyment of a thing which a man holds or exercises by himself, or by another who keeps or exercises it in his name. It expresses the closest relation that can exist between a corporeal thing and the person who possess it, implying an actual, physical contact, as by sitting or standing upon a thing. Actual possession exists where the thing is in the immediate occupancy of the party. Constructive possession is that which exists in contemplation of law, without actual personal occupation. In order to complete a possession, two things are required: that there be an occupancy, apprehension, apprehension, or taking; that the taking be with an intent to possess [animus [ animus possidendi] possidendi ] Possession is the occupation of anything with the intent of exercising the rights of ownership in respect to it. “An owner in possession was protected against disturbance, but the rights of an owner out of possession were obscure and weak. To this day, it continues so with regard to chattels. For many purpos purposes es the true owner owner of gods gods is the person, person, and and the only person person,, entitl entitled ed to immedi immediate ate possession.” “Legal possession does not necessarily coincide either with actual physical control… or with the right to possess, and it need not have a rightful origin.” “Poss “Possess ession ion is to be prote protecte cted d becau because se a many many by taking taking posses possessio sion n of an object object has has brought it within the sphere of his will; he has extended his personality into or over that object.” “Rights of ownership are substantially the same as those incident to possession… The owner is allowed to exclude all and is accountable to no one; the possessor is allowed to exclude all but one and is accountable to no one but him [owner].” “A very very high high degree degree of legal legal protec protectio tion n is accord accorded ed to one lawfully lawfully in posses possessio sion n and, and, whether its origin is rightful or not, a stranger cannot be heard in opposition to it. The true owner may be heard, but an intruder never. It is said, however, that the bald proposition that possession is a good title against a wrongdoer is inaccurate if stated entirely without qualification, and that the true limits of the bare possessor’s right to recover damages for interference with his possession are: If the defendant cannot show who the true owner is, the bare possessor may recover the same measure of damages as if he were the true owner, whether he is liable over to the owner or not. Where the true owner is shown, the bare possessor cannot recover the value of the goods taken or the diminution in their value, or for injury, unless he is liable over to the owner. Whether the true owner be shown or not, the possessor may recover damages for the taking or trespass, nominal or substantial, as the taking is or is not attended with aggravation. aggravation. Principles as to possession in COMMON LAW: 1. Possession in fact is is such actual exclusive exclusive control as the nature nature of the thing admits. admits. 2. Possessi Possession on in law, law, the right which is protected protected by possessor possessory y remedies remedies,, generally generally follows possession in fact, but does not necessarily cease when possession in fact ceases. •
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3. Poss Posses essi sion on in law law cont contin inue ues s unti untill dete determ rmin ined ed in some some way way whic which h the the law law defi defini nite tely ly recognizes, beyond the mere absence or failure of a continuing intent to possess. 4. Possessi Possession on in law is a commencement commencement of title; in other words, words, the possessor possessor can deal deal with the thing as an owner against all persons not having a better title and this protection extended to persons deriving title from him in good faith. 5. When possessi possession on in fact is so contested contested that no one can be said to have actual actual effective effective control, possession in law follows the better title. Failure to take possession is sometimes considered a badge of fraud, in the transfer of personal property. Possession of real property will be presumed to accompany ownership until the contrary is proved; proved; and construct constructive ive possessi possession on consequen consequentt upon legal legal ownershi ownership p is sufficient sufficient as against against trespassers. Long continued possession and use of real property creates a presumption of lawful origin, and this presumption need not rest upon belief that a conveyance was in point of fact executed. When it is not based on legal right, but secured by violence and maintained with force and arms, possession cannot furnish the basis of a right. A servant in charge of his master’s goods does not have possession in law. Civil possession is the detention of a thing by virtue of a just title and under the conviction of possessing as owner. Natural possession is that by which a man detains a thing corporeal; it is the corporeal detention of a thing which we possess as belonging to us, without any title to that possession, or with a title which is void. Posses Possessio sion n appli applies es proper properly ly only only to corpor corporea eall things things,, movab movables les and immova immovable bles. s. The possession of incorporeal rights, such as servitudes and other rights of that nature, is only a quasipossession, and is exercised by a species of possession of which these rights are susceptible. Possession may be enjoyed by the proprietor of the thing or by another for him; thus, the proprietor of a horse possesses it by his tenant or farmer. Possession is lost with or without the consent of the possessor. Lost with his consent – when he transfers this possession to another with the intention to • divest divest himsel himselff of it; when when he does does some some act act which which manife manifests sts his intentio intention n of aband abandoni oning ng possession. A possessor of an estate loses the possession against his consent – when another expels him from it, whether by force in driving him away, or by usurping possession during his absence, and preventing him from re-entering; when the possessor of an estate allows it to be usurped and held for a year, without during that time having done any act of possession or interfered with the usurper’s possession. In general, the possessor of personal chattels is presumed to be the owner; and in case of real estate he has a right to receive the profits until a title adverse to his possession has been established, established, leaving him subject to an action for the mesne profits. Possession of movable property is equivalent to title: When the possession is in good faith When the owner has voluntarily parted with the possession of the thing When the possession is in the concept of owner If the owner has lost the thing, or he has been unlawfully deprived of it, he has a right to recover it, not only from the finder, thief or robber, but also from third persons who may have acquired it in good faith from such finder, thief or robber. The general rule of irreinvidicability , irreinvidicability , therefore, has 2 exceptions: 1. When the owner owner has has lost the thing thing 2. When the owner has has been unlawfully unlawfully deprived deprived thereof. thereof. In these cases, the possessor cannot retain the thing as against the owner who may recover it without paying any indemnity, except when the possessor acquired it in a public sale. Public sale, which entitles the possessor in good faith to reimbursement, is one where there has been public notice of the sale, in which anybody has a right to bid and offer to buy. [see U.S. v. Soriano, 12 Phil. 512] •
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It is a general principle that no man can be divested of his property without his consent or voluntary act. To the foregoing rule there seems to be 2 apparent exceptions: 1. Where the owner has entrusted or delivered to an agent money or negotiable promissory notes have been delivered or transferred to some innocent 3 rd party. This exception is based on the exigencies of commerce. Money bears no earmarks of peculiar ownership. Its primary purpose is to pass from hand to hand as a medium of exchange, without other evidence of its title. 2. Doctri Doctrine ne of Estop Estoppel pel.. An illus illustra tratio tion n of this this would would be where where a man man volunt voluntar arily ily placed placed property in the possession of one whose ordinary business is to sell similar property as an agent for the owners. In such a case, it can be inferred that he intends the property to be sold. For example, where the owner sends his goods to an auction room, where the goods of a like kind are constantl constantly y being sold, he would would be estopped from recovering recovering them in case they are actually sold. Article 546 Examples of necessary and useful expenses: a. Necessa Necessary ry – repairs repairs to avoid avoid deteriora deterioration tion [see Angeles Angeles v. Lozada, Lozada, 54 Phil. Phil. 184] b. Usef Useful ul – hous house e buil builtt on land land;; fish fishpo pond nd,, and and irri irriga gati tion on syste system m [see [see Alfo Alfons nso o v. Villanueva 7 Phil. 277; Rivera v. Arch. Of Manila, Valenzuela v. Lopez 51 Phil 279] Land taxes not necessary necessary expenses; these are charges which shall be proportionately borne by the owner and possessor based on the length of possession [see Art. 545]. Cultivation expenses are not necessary expenses because they refer only to preservation preservation of the fruits and not of the thing or property itself; they shall be refunded only on the basis that no person shall unjustly enrich himself at the expense of another. Abandonment can hardly apply to land, as to which abandonment as a mode of acquisition is not available, let along to registered land [see Yu v. De Lara, L-16804 Nov. 30, 1962] Article 559
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XXXII. XXX II.
Cruz v. Paliati, 52 O.G. 3253 U.S. v. Sotelo, 28 Phil. 147 People v. Alajano [or Elajano], 54 Phil. 987 See also Art. 1132 and 1505 of Civil Code
Advers Adverse e Posses Possessio sion n The enjoyment of land, or such estate as lies in grant, under such circumstances as indicate that such enjoyment has been commenced and continued under an assertion or color of right on the part of the possessor. A prescriptive title rests upon a different principle from that of a title arising under the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations operates not so much to confer positive title on the occupant, as to bar the remedy. Hence it is said to be properly called a negative prescription. It applies only when there has been some actionable invasion of the real owner’s possession. The statute of limitations protects the adverse possessor in his possession not out of regard to the merits of his title, but because the real owner has acquiesced in his possession. A mere possession, without color or claim of an adverse title, will not enable one in an action of right to avail himself of the statute of limitations. The terms “color of title” and “claim of title” are not synonymous. To constitute the former, there must be a proper title, but the latter may rest wholly in parol. The claim of right may be made inferent inferentiall ially y by unequivoc unequivocal al acts of ownershi ownership, p, or by visible visible hostile, hostile, exclusiv exclusive, e, and continuou continuous s appropriation of the land. It need not be a valid claim, so long as it is made and relied on by the person person in possessi possession. on. And cohere cohere all the other elements elements of an adverse adverse possession possession have concurrently and persistently existed for the statutory time, color of title has been usually held not essential. The intention must be manifest. It guides the entry and fixes its character. Possession taken under under claim claim of title title shows shows such such intent intention ion.. But if by mistak mistake, e, one overs overstep teps s his bounds bounds and encroaches upon his neighbor’s lands, not knowing the location of the true line and intending to claim no more than he really is entitled to possess, his possession is not adverse, and will not give him title no matter how long he actually holds it. In such a case, the intent to claim title exists only upon the condition that his belief as to his boundary is true. The intention is not absolute, but
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provisional, provisional, and the possession is not adverse. When a boundary line between adjoining landowners is perpetually in dispute, and neither has actual occupation to any definite line, there is no adverse possession beyond the true line; nor will the encroachment of one in the erection of his building on neighboring property through mistake constitute such a possession as will ripen into title by the lapse of time; nor where a deed, by mistake, covered land not intended to be conveyed. • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Lewis v. Railroad Co. Jasperson v. Scharvikow Probst v. Trustees Shirey v. Whitlow Kirkman v. Brown Preble v. Railroad Co Liddle v. Blake Davis v. Owen Garst v. Brutsche Barnes v. Light Cox v. Hotel Co. Dibble v. Land Co. Virginia Midland R. Co. v. Barbour
56 N.E. 540 150 Fed. 571 32 L. Ed. 642 97 S.W. 444 27 S.W. 709 27 Atl. 149 105 N.W. 649 58 S.E. 581 105 N.W. 452 22 N.E. 441 47 S.W. 808 41 L. Ed. 72 33 S.E. 554
Where one enters into possession of real property by permission of the owner, without any tenancy whatever being created, except at sufferance, possession possession being given as a mere matter of favor, he can never acquire title by adverse possession, no matter how long continued against the true owner thereof, unless there is a clear, positive, unequivocal disclaimer and disavowal of the owner’s title and an assertion by the occupant of a title in hostility thereto, notice thereof being brought home to the landowner. [McCutchen [McCutchen v. McCutchen, 57 S.E. 678] The adverse possession must be “actual, continued, visible, notorious, distinct and hostile”. It is founded in trespass and desseisin, desseisin, an ouster and continued exclusion of the true owner for the period period prescrib prescribed ed by the statute. statute. [NOTE: [NOTE: DESSEISIN DESSEISIN is the process of wrongful wrongfully ly or unlawful unlawfully ly dispossessing dispossessing a person of his rightful real property; also see http://www.lectlaw.com/def/d181.htm http://www.lectlaw.com/def/d181.htm]] • • • • • • • • • •
Evans v. Templeton Olewine v. Messmore Farmers’ & Merchants’ National Bank v. Wallace Todd v. Todd Lee v. Livingston Rodney v. McLaughlin Dobbins v. Dobbins Wright v. Kleyla Miller v. Miller Mc Cann v. Welch
6 S.W. 843 18 Atl. 495 12 N.E. 439 7 N.E. 583 106 N.W. 713 9 S.W. 726 53 S.E. 870 4 N.E. 16 100 Am. Dec. 538 81 N.W. 996
One claiming claiming by adverse adverse possession possession cannot cannot avail avail himself himself of the previous possession possession of another person with whose title he is in no way connected. [Helfin v. Burns, 8 S.W. 48] There can be no adverse possession against the State, but a State may acquire a title by adverse possession. Hurst v. Dulany, 5 S.E. 802 Attorney General v. Ellis, 84 N.E. 430 There can be no adverse possession between husband and wife while the marital relation continues to exist. Bell v. Bell, 79 Am. Dec. 73 Robinson v. Allison, 27 South 461 When trust property is taken possession of by a trustee, it is the possession of the cestui que trust and cannot be adverse until the trust is disavowed, to the knowledge of the cestui que trust . [Reynolds v. Summer, 18 N.E. 334] The possession of the tenant becomes adverse where, to the knowledge of the landlord, the tenant disclaims the tenancy, and sets up title adverse to the landlord. Willison v. Watkins, 7 L. Ed 596 Walden v. Bodley, 10 L. Ed. 398 Tillotson v. Doe, 39 Am. Dec. 330 • •
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The title by adverse possession for such period as is required by statute to bar an action, is a fee-simple title, and is effective as any otherwise acquired. [Northern Pac. R. Co. v. Hasse, 49 L. Ed. 642] When there has been a severance of the title to the surface and that to the minerals beneath it, adverse possession of the surface will not affect the title to the minerals. [Lulay v. Barnes, 34 Atl. 52] It is not material that a break in the continuity of possession has been due to outside causes; in such a case, it was held that the running of the statute was suspended. [Western v. Flanagan, Flanagan, 25 S.W. 531] LIMITATIONS Adverse possession of personal property gives title at the expiration of the statutory period after the possession becomes adverse. But one who holds by consent of the true owner is not entitled to have the statute run in his favor until denial of the true owner’s claim. But different adverse possessions cannot be linked together to give title. The statute acts upon the title to property and when the bar is perfect, transfers it to the adverse possessor. possessor. Adverse possession for the necessary statutory period gives title against the true owner; but is must be open, uninterrupted, and with intent to claim against the true owner. The possession must be an actual occupation, so open that the true owner ought to know it and must be presumed to know it, and in such manner and under such circumstances as amount to an invasion of his rights, thereby giving him cause of action. The owner of land can only be barred by such possession as has been actual, continued, visible, notorious, distinct, and hostile or adverse. A possession not actual, but constructive, not exclusive, but in participation with the owner or others falls short of that kind of adverse possession which deprives the true owner of his title. As a rule, the nature of the acts necessary to constitute adverse possession varies with the region region and charact character er of the groun ground. d. If the latter latter is uncult uncultiva ivated ted and the region region sparse sparsely ly populated, much less unequivocal acts are necessary necessary on the part of the adverse holder. Evidence of adverse possession must be strictly construed and every presumption is in favor of the true owner. The claim claim by adver adverse se posses possessio sion n must must have have some some defini definite te bounda boundarie ries. s. There There ought ought to be something to indicate to what extent the adverse possessor claims. A sufficient enclosure will establish the limits, without actual continued residence on the land. But is must be an actual, visible and substantial enclosure. [And where the claim is by possession only, without any color or pretense of title, it cannot extend beyond the actual limits of the enclosure.] If one by mistak mistake e enclos encloses es the land land of anothe another, r, and claims claims it as his own to certai certain n fixed fixed • monuments or boundaries, his actual and uninterrupted possession as owner for the statutory period will work a disseisin, disseisin , and his title will be perfect. A trespasser who afterwards obtains color of title can claim constructively only from the time when the title was obtained. Color of title exists wherever there is a reasonable doubt regarding the validity of an apparent title, title, whether whether such doubt doubt arises arises from the circumstan circumstances ces under which the land is held, the identity of the land conveyed, or the construction of the instrument under which the party in possession claims title. A fraudulent deed, if accepted in good faith, gives color of title; so does a defective deed; so does an improperly executed deed, if the grantor believes he has title thereby. If there is no written title, then the possession must be under a bona fide claim to a title existing in another. •
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Othe Ot her r Notes Notes Property Property of public public dominion dominion cannot be appropria appropriated ted and alienated, alienated, because they are outside the commerce of men. These cannot be subject to attachment and execution. Seashore lands are property of public dominion. Creeks are property of public dominion, they being mere arms extending from a river. The government owns the accretions to the shores of the sea by action of the water.
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Natural expropriation takes place when the private land adjoining the seashore is invaded by the sea and the owners allows it to be so invaded without taking the necessary steps. The private land in such instance becomes a part of property of public dominion. The patrimonial property of the state is one owned by the latter as if it were owned by an individual so that the State has, over such property, the same rights and power subject to certain rules, as that of an individual over his own property. Patr Patrim imon onia iall prop proper erty ty of the the Stat State e is with within in the the comm commer erce ce of men. men. It may may be acqu acquir ired ed by prescription. prescription. Only property of public dominion, as declared in many cases, may not be appropriated appropriated or alienated and/or acquired by prescription. The patrimonial property of the State may be termed as “property privately owned by the State”. Property Property of public public dominion dominion is converte converted d into patrimonial patrimonial property property of the State by legislati legislative ve enactment or declaration; it is up to the courts to determine whether there was proper conversion. Catho Catholic lic church churches es and and consec consecra rated ted object objects s do not belong belong to the State State nor subje subject ct to priva private te ownership by individuals. They are owned by the Roman Catholic Church as a juridical person. Friar lands are patrimonial property of the State. There are certain cases where the fruits of the property will not belong to the owner of the land… 1. Possessor in good good faith faith [Art. [Art. 544] 2. Usufructua Usufructuary ry [Art. [Art. 566] 3. Antichresis [Art. 2132] Basic principles/characteristics that underlie accession continua… 1. Accessory follows the principal. 2. The nature of the incorporation incorporation is in in such a way that that separation separation would injure or destroy either or both of the properties incorporated. 3. No punitive liability liability shall shall be suffered by the person person who acts in good faith. 4. The person who acts in bad bad faith is punished by, by, among others, requiring requiring him to pay damages. damages. Art. 158 (CC): …shows an instance where the principal follows the accessory Art. 448 (CC): is not applicable in the following instances: 1. Co-owners Co-ownership hip 2. Usufru Usufruct ct 3. Leas Lease e 4. In case a person person who owns a house and lot lot sells only only the lot but not the the house 5. Constructions made during a war 6. When the parties concerned concerned agree on terms terms and conditions not contemplated contemplated by said article article Art. 324 (CC): … exclude; repel; reasonably necessary Art. 432 (CC): … interference (necessary)… (necessary)… danger Art. 433 (CC): …recovery…judicial process
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