1L - First Year Lesson Topics

This lesson contains problems and questions concerning the Reasonable Person standard for negligence actions. The central issue in negligence is the duty of care. For the typical adult, the standard is the Reasonable Person of Ordinary Prudence under similar circumstances.

This lesson focuses upon the purpose, interpretation, and application of recording statutes. The lesson should help students understand the following: what a recording act is and what functions a recording act serves; what kinds of interests are covered by recording acts, and what types of persons may claim the protection of a recording act; the three types of recording acts used in American jurisdictions and the differences between them; how to interpret the language of a typical recording act (and to distinguish between the three basic types); and how to apply a recording act to resolve conflicting claims to the same land.

This lesson will give you some background about Regional Organizations, collections of countries, organized by region, engaged in collaborative work toward some common goal. You will learn to find the documents of some of the most important Regional Organizations on the web.

This lesson introduces students to one of the constitutional issues that can arise as a result of environmental and natural resources regulation: regulatory takings under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It begins by giving students an overview of regulatory taking claims, their distinction from physical takings of private property, and some of the rules that apply in evaluating whether a regulatory taking has occurred.

This lesson is the fourth of several addressing the various issues relating to the concurrent ownership of property. It is designed to introduce Property students to the rights and obligations co-tenants have when dealing with property held by a concurrent estate. The lesson addresses each respective tenant’s possessory rights, obligations for costs and expenses relating to the subject property, potential for ousting another co-tenant, and liabilities in the event of having ousted another co-tenant.

This lesson explores the remedy of reliance, which can be available both 1) where there is no contract and 2) where there is a contract and the non-breaching party chooses an alternative to the expectancy measure of damages. The lesson can be run either as an introduction to reliance or as a review after you have completed your study.

Even though the thing speaks for itself, this lesson speaks more about res ipsa loquitur. This tort doctrine becomes an immediate favorite of all who hear its mellifluous name, but the doctrine has several nuances that do not speak so clearly, such as the circumstances when it applies, how common carriers are covered, and how it is conveyed to the jury. This lesson explores all of those nuances.

Rescission is one of the ways in which contractual duties are discharged. This lesson discusses mutual rescission, rescission by one of the parties, and rescission as a remedy used by a court. This lesson may be used to introduce you to the subject or to review it.