Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

Property Law Resource Guide

Introduction Study Aids
Restatements Journal Articles/Current Awareness Services
Statutes Westlaw and Lexis
Cases Web Resources
Major Treatises and Practice Guides  

I

Introduction

Property law is concerned with issues regarding ownership and use of real estate and personal property, including title, methods of conveyancing, mortgage, recording and the landlord/tenant relationship. Governing authorities are primarily state statutes and state case law. To research issues regarding land use and local regulation of property see Land Use, Planning and Zoning Law Resource Guide. For more resources on concerning the devise of property through wills or the probate process, see Estates and Trusts Resource Guide.

 

Restatements

The American Law Institute's Restatements set out the common-law rules or majority consensus in United States jurisdictions on a subject. Unlike most secondary sources, Restatements are often cited in legal opinions, and are annotated, making them excellent sources for finding leading case law. The property restatements illustrate the breadth and evolution of property jurisprudence. You will find them on Westlaw and Lexis( Legal > Secondary Legal > Restatements of the Law > Property) , as well as in print as noted below:

Restatement of the Law of Property , 1936-1993. Reference KF 570 .A75 1936b

Restatement of the Law,Third, Property : Servitudes , 2000. " ... Simplifying, clarifying, and modernizing the law of covenants, easements, and profits... ." Reference KF 657 .R47

Restatement of the Law 3d, Property : Wills and Other Donative Transfers, 1999- "This first volume of this Restatement will eventually replace Restatement Second, Property (Donative Transfers), re. probate transfers. .. The second volume restates the law of nonprobate transfers, such as gifts, life insurance and pensions. The final division collects the rules and principles for ascertaining a donor’s intent...Reference KF 755.R48 1999

Restatement of the Law, Second :Property, 2d : Donative Transfers, 1983 - ".The first volume..., supersedes Volume 4 of the original Restatement, and is concerned with when overriding social policy limits the nature of the property interests a donor can create or the restraints he or she can effectively impose.... The second volume... deals with the law governing powers of appointment... The third volume of the project sets forth the rules of construction for determining a donor’s intention .... Volume 4... law of gifts,.." Reference KF 613 .R47 1983

Restatement of the Law, Property : Mortgages, 1997:Reference KF 695.A2 R435 1997

Restatement of the Law, Second, Property, 2d, Landlord and Tenant, 1977 Reference KF 590 .A84 1977

MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS of these Restatements and their coverage.

 

Statutes

Ohio Revised Code Title 53 contains the laws governing Real Property,such as Chapter 5301, Conveyances and Encumbrances, Chapter 5303, Actions Relating to Realty, and Chapter 5321, Landlords and Tenants. Find the statutes at:

  • LAWRiter from State of Ohio website - unannotated.
  • Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated, available on Westlaw, or in print in the reference area and Ohio Room: KFO 30 1953 .A4
  • Page's Ohio Revised Code Annotated, available on Lexis, or in print in the reference area and Ohio Room: KFO 30 1953 .P3

To find other states' statutes on the web, see the Legal Information Institute's: State Statutes on the Internet (Part III) - Property

 

Cases

Use a case law database for the jurisdiction in question or a database specific to property, such as:

 

Major Treatises and Practice Guides

As Property law encompasses such a wide range of concepts and issues, you will find both comprehensive and narrowly focussed mutli-volume treatises, as well as many one or two volume works and hornbooks. Search Scholar under headings such as Real Property – United States ,Eminent Domain , Future Interests – United States, Landlord and Tenant – United States, Mortgages -- United States, Personal Property – United States , or Real Property -- Ohio.

Browse the stacks in the library at call numbers KF570 -KF699, Atrium, A066 and Reference areas. For Ohio materials, try KFO112-KF0130(Ohio), Reference and Ohio room.

In Westlaw, you'll find Real Property treatises and practice guides at All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Real Property ; In Lexis, follow the trail Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Real Estate

Multi-volume Treatises

The two major comprehensive property scholarly treatises are:

Powell on Real Property (Patrick J. Rohan ed., 1977-), available in Lexis,   and in print: KF570 .P6

Thompson on Real Property (David A. Thomas ed., 1st/2d eds. 1994-), available in Lexis and in print: KF570 .T46

Examples of multi-volume treatises covering narrow aspects of property jurisprudence are:

Nichols on Eminent Domain (3d ed. Julius L. Sackman et al., 1964-date), available in Lexis

Friedman on Contracts and Conveyances of Real Property (James Charles Smith ed., 7th ed. 2005-), available in Westlaw and in print: KF670.F752

Friedman on Leases (Patrick A. Randolph, Jr. ed., 5th ed. 2004-), available in Westlaw and in print:   KF590 .F7

The Law of Future Interests, .( John A. Borron, Jr ., 3rd ed., 2002-)     KF 605 .S52 2002

One or Two Volume Treatises/Hornbooks

Clark on Surveying and Boundaries ( Walter G. Robillard & Lane J. Bouman,7th ed. 1997-date), available in Lexis and print: KF683 .C55 1997

The Law of Property ( William B. Stoebuck & Dale A. Whitman,3d ed. 2000) KF570 .C86 2000   Hornbook

Introduction to Property, (Joseph William Singer, 2d ed., 2005) KF 570 .Z9 S56 2005

Introduction to the Law of Real Property: An Historical Background of the Common Law of Real Property and Its Modern Application, ( Cornelius J. Moynihan, Sheldon F. Kurtz, 4th ed. , 2005.) KF 570 .M6 2005    Hornbook

The Law of Property : An Introductory Survey, ( Herbert Hovenkamp, Sheldon F. Kurtz, 5th ed., 2001) KF 570 .S53

Real Estate Finance Law (Grant S. Nelson & Dale A. Whitman, 5th ed. 2007) KF695 .N45 2007b Hornbook

Foreclosures: Defenses, Workouts, and Mortgage Servicing (John Rao et al., 2d ed. 2007-) KF697.F6 R36 2007 - Practice oriented from the National Consumer Law Center

Ohio Property Law Titles

The following Ohio practice titles will contain forms, checklists, practice tips and commentary for property related transactions and litigation:

Ohio Landlord Tenant Law ( Frederic White ed., 1997 -) Available in Westlaw and print:     KFO 117.Z9 W5

Ohio Eviction and Landlord-Tenant Law (Peter Iskin, 3d ed.,2003): KFO117 .I854 2003

Ohio Real Estate Law, (Kenton L. Kuehnle with Jack S. Levey , 3d ed., 2003-) Available in Westlaw and print: KFO 112 .H362 - Revision of Hausser and Van Aken, Ohio Real Estate Law and Practice

Anderson's Ohio Residential Real Estate Manual (Thomas J. Sherman 5th ed., 2005-) Available in Lexis and in print: KFO 126 .W55 (Continues Ohio Real Estate Transactions, 4th ed., 2004)

Ohio Real Property Law and Practice, (Robert M. Curry and James Geoffrey Durham, 6th ed.,2006 - ) Available in Lexis and in print: KFO 112 .M32 2006

 

 

Study Aids

A selection of CDs and print property study aids appears below. For more, check Room A066 and the reference area study aids collection at call numbers KF570-KF705. See also our Study Aids Research Guide.

Real Property [sound recording] Law School Legends Series, KF 570 .F73 2005

Property [sound recording] Outstanding Professor Series, KF 570 .Z9 J84 2000

Real Property in a Nutshell KF570.Z9 B47 2005

Landlord and Tenant Law in a Nutshell KF 590 .Z9 H45 2004

Water Law in a Nutshell KF5569.3 .G48 2009

Understanding Property Law KF561 .S67 2007

Understanding Modern Real Estate Transactions KF665.Z9 J638 2007

Property : Examples and Explanations KF 560 .B87 2008  

Real Estate Transactions : Examples and Explanations KF 665 .Z9 B865 2006     

Questions & Answers. Property KF560 .N34 2004

Personal Property in a Nutshell KF705.Z9 B83 2003

 

 

Journal Articles/Current Awareness Services

See Finding Articles in Law Reviews, Journals and Other Legal Periodicals for an explanation of the legal periodical indexes and databases available to Cleveland-Marshall College of Law students and the CSU community.

Selected specialty current awareness materials in Property Law include: Practical Real Estate Lawyer; Real Estate Law Journal Quarterly; Real Estate Law Report Monthly; Probate & Property; .Real Property, Probate, and Trust Journal

Search Lexis or Westlaw specialty databases of property law articles:

  • LexisNexis - ( Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Real Estate > Law Reviews & Journals > Property Law Review Articles, Combined )
  • Westlaw - ( RP-TP ) All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Real Property > Legal Periodicals, Texts & Practice Materials > Real Property - Law Reviews, Texts & Bar Journals
  • Westlaw Topical Highlights - Real Property ( WTH-RP )
 
 

Westlaw and Lexis

  • Westlaw - (All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Real Property ) Iinclude state cases relating to interests in and transfers of real property, public information, records and filings, real property texts, treatises, forms, periodicals and practice materials. See also All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Personal Property
  • LexisNexis - ( Legal > Area of Law - By Topic - Real Estate ) Include federal and state cases, court rules, statutes and legislative materials, administrative materials and regulations, legal reference materials, other journals, news and references, law reviews and journals, treatises and analytical materials, legal and general news.
  • Use the West Key Number system to search state or federal caselaw, encylopedias, treatises and/or journals and law reviews for Real or Personal property issues and their subtopics:
  • Use LexisNexis Search Advisor -- ( All Topics > Real and Personal Property )
 

Web Resources

MR 6/29/07; 11/21/08; JRN 8/06/09


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