In November of 1978 Abbott was hunting in a remote area in the foothills of some mountains in the State of Western. He had always liked to hunt on his own in places as far from others as possible. The area was very pretty and he fell in love with it. A few days later he went to the courthouse in the county seat of Buffalo and by searching in the county recorder's office found that the property was owned by a person named "J. Benny." Abbott asked a number of persons in Buffalo and the surrounding area if they knew Benny because Abbott was interested in buying the land. No one had ever heard of Benny and so far as anyone knew no one had ever used the land Abbott wanted to buy. It was so far from anything that no one seemed to have any interest in it. The tract of land was about 800 acres and had no buildings or other improvements on it. The east 500 acres were grassland and the west 300 acres were heavily wooded foothills of the mountains.

Frustrated at his inability to find Benny, Abbott had an inspiration. He drafted a deed with J. Benny as grantor and Abbott as grantee and signed the name "J. Benny" to it using his left hand (he is right handed) to disguise the fact that he had signed. Abbott then recorded this forged deed in the county recorder's office.

On March 15, 1979, Abbott began clearing a 5 acre parcel of the wooded area adjacent to the grassland. Over the next 6 months he built a house, a barn and several smaller buildings on this parcel. In the summer of 1979 he bought 500 head of cattle which he put out to graze in the grasslands. In this rather arid area of Western the land could support only 1 head of cattle per acre. He moved into the house in September of 1979 in time for the hunting season. He did not develop the remainder of the wooded area, preferring to keep it for hunting and hiking.

Abbott lived on the property and raised cattle continuously until 1988 when he became ill with cancer. Up until this time he also hiked in the woods every weekend and hunted in them during the fall. His illness required that he be hospitalized in Buffalo for several months from May until early August, 1988. During that time his neighbor whom he had gotten to know over the years took care of the ranch.

By November, 1988, Abbott realized that his health would never improve enough to allow him to resume running the ranch. About that time a woman named Costello approached Abbott to see if he was interested in selling the ranch. She knew that many wealthy Californians were interested in recreation and in purchasing real estate in Western. Although Costello thought that actual development in this area was some time away because of its remoteness, she planned to operate a dude ranch and hunting lodge until it was advantageous to sell. Abbott was happy to have a buyer, and signed a deed conveying the property to Costello on January 10, 1989.

Costello began to operate the property as a dude ranch in the Spring of 1990. She widened some of the hiking trails in the wooded area to make them suitable for horse trails. She also continued to graze 500 head of cattle on the grasslands. She expanded the barn to accommodate her horses and renovated and expanded the house to accommodate guests. From that time until now she has operated the dude ranch very successfully. She opens every year on May 1 and closes on December 1. She spends the winter at her home in Southern California. During that time her neighbor looks after the few cattle that she retains over the winter. This is usually no more than 100 head.

In August of 1994 a man who said he was J. Benny came by the ranch and asked Costello what right she had to be on his property. He explained that he lived in New York and had bought the property some years ago for use when he retired. That time was approaching, and he was now ready to move to it. He told Costello she would have to leave, and that he would institute legal proceedings if she did not. Costello was concerned, but she never heard from Benny again. Unknown to her, Benny's plane crashed on his return flight to New York, and he was killed.

On November 25, 1994, a woman named Dylan who was a guest at the ranch was hunting in the far western wooded area of the property. As she climbed onto some rocks for a better vantage point, she found a very worn satchel which appeared to have been there for some time. When she opened it, she found almost $500,000 in cash. When Dylan reported her find to the authorities, Costello claimed the money as owner of the land. Shortly thereafter, Essex Airlines claimed the money as its own. Essex' lawyer explained that the money must be the money that the airline had paid as a ransom to a passenger named D. B. Tinker who 20 years before had hijacked a plane and demanded $750,000 in unmarked bills. When the amount was paid, Tinker parachuted from the plane as it passed over the mountains about 50 miles from the ranch. Tinker was never seen again.

Over the years Essex and the authorities made numerous searches but never found the money. About a year ago the president of Essex appeared on a national television program about the case and said, "We have abandoned any hope of ever finding Tinker or any of the money." Essex now claims that the money must be part of what it paid to Tinker. The money in the satchel is unmarked.

The statute of limitations for bringing an action in ejectment for recovery of real estate in the state of Western is 15 years. The personal representative of Benny's estate claims ownership of the ranch against Costello.

Please answer the following questions.

1. Who is the rightful owner of the ranch property? Discuss fully the claims of Costello and Benny's estate.

2. Who is entitled to the money? Discuss fully the claims of Costello, Benny's estate, Dylan and Essex.

II (60 minutes)

The following questions deal with future interests and the Rule Against Perpetuities. Remember that a conveyance denotes an inter vivos transfer and that a devise is a transfer by will at the death of the testator.

1. In the following examples you are asked to identify all of the possessory estates and future interests created by the transfer. In some of the examples you are asked additional questions. Answer all of the questions asked for each example. In each case assume that O owns a fee simple absolute at the time of the transfer.

a. O conveys to "A for life, then to B for life and then to First Street Church for its use as long as the property is used for church purposes." What interests are created?

b. O conveys property to "A for life, then to B if B survives A, and if B does not survive A, to C if C survives A." A, B and C are all alive at the time of the conveyance. What interests are created? Who owns the property at A's death, if B dies before A, but C survives A?

c. O devises property to "my son, S, for life, then to my son's children who survive him, but if no child of S survives him, to my daughter, D." S and D are both alive at O's death and S has a daughter, Mary, at that time. What interests are created?

d. O conveys property to "A for life, then to B, but if B does not survive A, then to C and his heirs." A, B, and C are all living. What interests are created? Who takes the property if at A's death B and C have both already died?

e. O conveys property to "A for life, then to A's children, but if no child of A survives him, then to B." At the time of the conveyance A and B are alive and A has no children. What interests are created?

2. In the following examples analyze the interests under the common law Rule Against Perpetuities. State in each case which interests, if any, are subject to the Rule, and, as to each of those interests, state whether the interest is valid or invalid under the Rule. Explain your answers.

a. O conveys property to "A for life, and at his death the property is to go to B if she is married and attains the age of 80." At the time of the conveyance, A and B are alive and B is 21 and unmarried.

b. O devises property to "A for life, then to B Church as long as the land is used for religious purposes, and if it is used for nonreligious purposes, then to C and her heirs." A and C are alive at O's death and B Church is in existence.

c. O devises property to "my son, S, for life, and at S's death, to his children for life and at the death of his last surviving child, to S's grandchildren."At O's death S is alive and has 2 children who are alive.

d. O devises property to "A for life, then to my grandchildren who reach the age of 21." At O's death A is alive and O has children living but no grandchildren.

III (30 minutes)

Assume that the time is several years in the future and you have graduated from law school, passed the bar and been admitted to practice. A new client, Ann Adams, has come to you for legal advice. During the interview Adams tells you the following facts.

Adams has always loved horses and has been active in raising and riding show horses. In 1982 she met Brad Beck at one of the shows she was attending. They found that they shared an intense interest in horses and had many other interests in common. Soon they were in love.

In 1983, to show his commitment to their new relationship, Beck conveyed the property that he owned in fee simple absolute and on which he ran his horse farm to "Ann Adams and Bradley Beck as joint tenants with right of survivorship." Adams moved permanently to the farm to live there with Beck. On March 15, 1984, Beck borrowed money to help with operating expenses from Local Bank and signed a mortgage to Local Bank on the farm property. Adams knew nothing about this loan at the time and did not sign the mortgage. Beck paid this debt off in January of 1989 and Local released its mortgage at that time. Only after paying it off did Beck tell Adams about the mortgage.

Over time Adams began to have doubts about her relationship with Beck. Neither of them wanted to commit to marriage, and they found that they simply were not compatible. They began to fight frequently. Finally on September 1, 1989, when she could tolerate no more, Adams moved out of the farm and into an apartment in a nearby city. When she left she told Beck that she would never come back and that she had no interest in maintaining ownership of the farm. She never signed any writing to this effect; she merely told Beck.

Beck tried to convince Adams to stay and wrote her a number of letters asking her to return. The last letter she received from him was dated December 1, 1989. In it Beck said, "I have tried to reason with you and ask with all my heart for you to come back. It is now obvious that you won't be coming, and as far as I'm concerned I no longer want you to. Please stay away from the farm from now on. I couldn't bear the sight of you."

Adams never did go back to the farm, but she continued to raise and show her own horses. Beck quit going to shows. Adams learned from a friend that he had told everyone that he did not want to come to shows where he might see Adams. In March of 1990 he dropped out of the horse show circuit altogether. On March 1, 1990 he signed a lease which purported to give the right to possession of the entire farm to a man named Corcoran. The lease term was 10 years and the yearly rent was $20,000. Corcoran paid tha amount to Beck on March 1 of each year from 1990 to 1994 for a total of $100,000. Adams never signed this lease or received any part of the rents.

Adams learned yesterday that Beck died on December 10, 1994. A friend told her that Beck left a will in which he left all of his property to his sister, Donna Davis.

Adams has asked you to advise her as to any rights she might have in the horse farm property and whether she is entitled to any part of the rents paid by Corcoran. Prepare a legal memorandum outlining any rights she might have.