Short Answer Questions
1) Andersen Windows manufactures windows that leave the factory and are shipped to Lowes. Jill buys the windows from Lowes. They are delivered to her house and then installed. Explain the type of property that the window is from the time it leaves the factory to when it is installed in Jill’s house.
2) Briefly differentiate among abandoned property, lost property, and mislaid property. Include in your discussion the status of the person who finds property in each of these situations.
3) Orville is the elderly man who has no family. Johnsons live next door to Orville and they have been very nice to him over the years. Orville is very fond of the two Johnson children, Janice and Johnny. Orville tells the kids that he is going to give them each a large check. Orville writes checks to Janice and Johnny for $10,000 each and puts them in his dresser drawer. The same night, Orville dies suddenly of a heart attack. Discuss who has ownership of the checks.
4) Tanya takes her car to Herb’s garage for repairs. Herb repairs Tanya’s car and charges her $200. Tanya tells Herb that the fee is shocking and refuses to pay him. What could Herb do?
5) Phil hunts on Roger’s property without his knowledge or permission. Phil kills the deer on Roger’s property. Phil has the deer stuffed and displays it in his home. Roger learns about Phil’s hunting adventure and demands that Phil give the stuffed deer to him. What logic will a court likely use in this case?
Case Problem
R. B. Bewley and his family drove to Kansas City to attend week-long church convention. When they arrived at hotel where they had reservations, they were unable to park their car and unload their luggage because of a long line of cars. They then drove to a nearby parking lot where they took the ticket, causing the gate arm to open, and drove in 15 or 20 feet. A parking attendant told them that the lot was full, that they must leave the keys with him, and that he will park the car. They told the attendant that they had reservations at a nearby hotel and that after they checked in they will come back for their luggage. Later, someone broke into the Bewley’s car and stole their personal property from the car and its trunk.
Was the parking lot a bailee of the property?
Short Answer Questions
1) Delbert rented an apartment for one year from Property Plus and paid a $250 deposit. At the end of the year, Property Plus refused to return the deposit because it maintained that Delbert ruined the wallpaper in the apartment by printing the words "Delbert loves Millie" all over the walls. If it will cost $500 to replace the wallpaper, may Property Plus apply the security deposit to this cost?
2) Bo rents the house on one year lease from Jo. Briefly describe three ways that this lease can be terminated.
3) Adam leased an apartment from Phillips for a period of one year beginning April 1, 1983. On April 30, 1983, Phillips entered the apartment using a passkey as Adam was at work so that he could see whether Adam was keeping the apartment clean. Adam came home from work and found Phillips in the apartment. Does Adam have a suit against Phillips? Why or why not?
4) Linda rents apartment in the Paradise Cove apartment complex. When returning to her apartment from work one evening, Linda is attacked by someone who was hiding in the bushes next to the building. Could Linda recover damages from the landlord in this situation?
5) Brad rents an apartment at Shady Lane Apartments. When Brad signed lease, he noticed that it contained an exculpatory clause. Discuss the legality of an exculpatory clause in a lease.
Case Problem
DeEtte Junker leased an apartment from F. L. Cappaert in the Pecan Ridge Apartment Complex, that consisted of six buildings, each with 1 2 apartments. Junker’s apartment was upstairs, and she and the tenants in two other apartments used a common stairway for access to their apartments. Junker slipped on the stairway and was injured. She sued Cappaert for damages on the grounds that he had been negligent in maintaining the stairway. Junker’s lease contained an exculpatory clause in which Cappaert disclaimed any liability for injury due to his negligence.
Did the exculpatory clause immunize the landlord against damages caused by his own negligence in maintaining a common area in leased residential property?