A man and a woman lived together for many years, but never m…

A man and a woman lived together for many years, but never married. The state in which they lived did not recognize common law marriages. One day, the man went with the woman to his bank and showed her a deed to a hotel he owned. The deed was properly executed and named the woman as grantee. The man handed the deed back to the banker, stating, “When I die you are to give the deed to her.” The banker accepted the deed, and assured the woman that he would handle everything. A few months later, the man and the woman had a violent quarrel. The man prevailed on the banker to return the deed. In a suit by the woman against the man to establish her claim to an interest in the hotel, what is the likely result?

Brea placed the following ad in her local newspaper: “House…

Brea placed the following ad in her local newspaper: “House located at 744 Leaf Ave. for sale at $250,000.” Lee read the ad, visited the property, and talked with Brea. Lee and Brea orally agreed that Lee would purchase the home for $215,000 and title would transfer to him within 90 days. Lee gave Brea a check for $25,000 as an earnest money deposit. Lee signed the check, writing “$215,000 purchase price for 744 Leaf Ave.” on the back of the check and Brea’s name on the payee line. Brea has not cashed the check. Which of the following is correct in most jurisdictions?

A buyer agreed to purchase a portion of a seller’s parcel fo…

A buyer agreed to purchase a portion of a seller’s parcel for $25,000. The buyer and the seller orally agreed that the property included in the purchase would be the westerly third of the parcel, and the eastern boundary would be a stone fence that ran from the northern border of the parcel to the southern boundary. Due to a clerical error by the seller’s secretary, when the agreement was reduced to writing, the eastern boundary was stated to be the picket fence, which is 275 yards east of the stone fence. If the buyer sues for specific performance of the contract conveying the additional strip of land, will the buyer likely prevail? Responses

A developer purchased a 45-acre tract of land and obtained a…

A developer purchased a 45-acre tract of land and obtained approval of, filed, and recorded a subdivision map dividing the land into 80 half-acre lots with a five-acre “city park.” The developer sold 70 of the lots over the next two years to individual purchasers; each deed referred to the recorded subdivision map. When the last 10 lots—located adjacent to the area originally designated as a city park—did not move, the developer sold the lots and the park in a single 10-acre package to a real estate corporation. The deed from the developer to the corporation omitted any reference to the subdivision map. The corporation sold the half-acre lots to individual purchasers and the five-acre “park” to a church via deeds also not mentioning the subdivision map. Before the church began construction of its worship center, the city announced that it was soliciting bids from local landscaping firms to prepare the five-acre parcel for use as a park by the public. When the church learned of the city’s plans, it brought an action to quiet title to the five-acre parcel it purchased from the corporation. How should the trial court rule?