Criminal Justice Class 24

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Topic idea from psycho_barbie. Class Info Link.]

*The Tick is at the podium as normal, but his expression has an unusual twinge of annoyance in it. If this twinge is noticed, it might be a good idea not to mention it. Lockheed is on his normal bookshelf.*

Hello, class! Before we get started, Rory will be posting the grades for the quiz you took a few weeks ago. Sorry it took so long to get it graded, but with one thing after another, things have been crazy.

Today we will be talking about real estate law. It seems that some people in class have had some issues adjusting to the fact that some of the places I pull these examples from have anthropomorphic animals as the common residents instead of humans. Therefore, I want you to ignore the fact that we're talking about a duck and two chipmunks today. Instead, just consider them to be an angry man wearing a sailor suit with no pants opposing two very small men who live in a tree.

The pantsless sailor - a Seaman in the Navy named Donald Duck - came into conflict with the short men - Chip and Dale... err, Rescuerangers - because he discovered that they had been living on his property without paying rent. However, they had been living in a tree in the backyard for some time before Seaman Duck bought the property, even though they legally didn't own their tree home. Seaman Duck generally lost his temper as soon as he realized that he couldn't talk the short men into leaving, so he tried any number of schemes to try to drive Chip and Dale Rescuerangers from their home. These schemes sometimes included forcibly removing the Rescuerangers from their home and sometimes involved the attempted destruction of their tree. He did, of course, always find some rather unlikely way to fail because that's how these things go.

Now imagine Seaman Duck's neighbors called the police about the ruckus. What would be the Just solution to this situation in terms of both the initial disturbance and the housing situation itself? Besides telling Seaman Duck to put on pants. That's a given.

Should the Rescuerangers be evicted? Should Seaman Duck be charged with anything? Also ponder that question based on the idea that the Rescuerangers are actually just intelligent chipmunks. Do Seaman Duck's attempts then fall into acceptable pest control?

Discuss any aspect of this situation you'd like.

This week's extra credit is to bring in a seasonal decoration for the class. It could relate to one of the many holidays around this time of year. It could relate simply to the coming of winter. Just make this room festive! Oh, and nothing that melts.

Comments

[janet_fraiser]

Janet narrowly manages to suppress laughter at the topic. But she's good to go on this one; she remembers real estate law well enough because, OMG, the player frelling WORKED in commercial real estate for FIVE frelling years, God help her because she'd bought a house.

"Don't Chip and Dale have an easement onto the property because they'd been living there for so many years prior to Seaman Duck's buying the house? I mean, Seaman Duck had better hope that Chip and Dale haven't been living in that tree for too long, because after long enough a certain length of time defined differently in each state, darn it, so I don't know about Virginia, but it's twenty years in Illinois they'd own the tree. And a good lawyer might even be able to make an argument about them owning a radius of around the tree that they've been foraging their food from."

Janet's extra credit is two strands of Christmas lights--one red, and one white. And enough candy canes for the entire class, plus Lockheed, Rory, and Tick. She's got an oatmeal raisin cookie ready in her backpack for Lockheed too, because she's a sucker for a dragon with a sweet tooth for cookies.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack blinks at Janet. "Did you just speak English? Because I swear I didn't get a word that you said."

[janet_fraiser]

She's used to that reaction, especially from people named Jack.

Janet grins at him. "Of course I spoke English. What didn't you get?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"I think my brain turned off on the word 'easement'." OMG I fear you and your real estate-fu.

[janet_fraiser]

Janet nodded. "That sounds about right. Essentially, they'd lived there previously with no problems whatsoever, and the old owner either didn't notice or didn't complain. Therefore, the law gives them the right to stay on the property. That's one type of easement. And sometimes, if that happens for a long enough period of time, the person with the easement can claim legal right to the property."

My real estate fu is strong, grasshopper. And should Tick ever want ask an extra credit question on a vampire's invitation to a house as a real estate law class, I could so kick ass and take names. Hey, look, it's just like a utility easement, only the vampire has an easement to kill you and drink your blood!

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

*looks around architecture office* *ponders if we've ever drawn a vampire easement line in a site plan*

[janet_fraiser]

*thinks that you probably haven't, but omg, we had this debate once on a list I was on*

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

Lockheed swooped down to thanks Janet for the snacks, then accepted the cookie a candy cane for himself and one for Tick. He then placed one of the canes around Tick's antenna. Lockheed returned to his shelf and snickered as he ate.

"Very good Janet!" Tick said. "I'm impressed! I really didn't expect anyone here to know anything about real estate law. Good work!" Tick left the candy cane on his antenna. He felt like he needed the whimsy.