Property Law

Property law was the early foundation of English common law. Although English property law, based in medieval tradition, evolved slowly over the centuries, it was liberalized when it reached American shores to allow more convenient land transactions. Yet a significant English doctrinal inheritance remains important in American property law today. Historically, English and American jurists have also turned to continental European legal sources for guidance on fundamental property rights issues. In Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) and Pierson v. Post (1805), for example, continental writers who espoused natural law theories were cited to support consequential judicial opinions, revealing how far contemporary jurists were imbued with older, wide-ranging traditions.

Duke of Norfolk's Case (1682) 
The Duke of Norfolk’s Case established the common law Rule Against Perpetuities:

“No interest in land is good unless it must vest, if at all, not later than twenty-one years after some life in being at the creation of the interest.”

Pierson v. Post (1805)
Pierson v. Post held that in order to obtain property rights to a wild animal, the animal must be brought under one’s control rather than merely being pursued.

Johnson v. M'Intosh (1823)
Johnson v. M’Intosh held that the aboriginal title of occupancy held by Native Americans is not alienable to individuals. Only the U.S. government may purchase land from Native Americans.

Tulk v. Moxhay (1848)
Tulk v. Moxhay established the common law rule that restrictive covenants may “run with the land” in equity, meaning that a future owner of land may be enjoined from using the land in a particular way.