Citation22 Ill.219 Kan. 668, 549 P.2d 986 (1976) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff sued Defendant for specific performance based on a handwritten agreement. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The fact that the parties contemplate the execution of a formal document is evidence that they intend to not be bound until the execution of the formal contract. ...
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Niernberg v. Feld
Citation22 Ill.131 Colo. 508, 283 P.2d 640 (1955) Brief Fact Summary. A husband and wife, the Niernbergs (Defendants), owned land which they agreed to sell to the Felds (Plaintiffs) under a “Receipt and Option” which provided for a $1,500 deposit. The Defendants then sold the property to another for greater than what the Plaintiffs had agreed to and thereafter refused to return the deposit. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An executory contract involving title to, or an interest in, land may be rescinded by an agreement resting in parol. The statute of frauds concerns the making of con ...
Hickey v. Green
Citation22 Ill.14 Mass. App. Ct. 671, 442 N.E.2d 37 (App. Ct. 1982) Brief Fact Summary. Green (Defendant) orally agreed to sell Plaintiffs a parcel for $15,000.00, and Plaintiffs gave a check for $500.00 as a deposit to Defendant. Then, Defendant told Plaintiffs that she no longer intended to sell her property to Plaintiffs, but that she would sell to another for $16,000.00. Plaintiffs offered to pay the same, but Defendant refused the offer. Synopsis of Rule of Law. “A contract for the transfer of an interest in land may be specifically enforced notwithstanding failure to comply ...
Shaughnessy v. Eidsmo
Citation22 Ill.222 Minn. 141, 23 N.W.2d 362 (1946) Brief Fact Summary. The Plaintiffs entered into an oral lease agreement with the Defendant for one year. The Plaintiffs contended that Defendant gave them an option to purchase at the end of the term and stated that he would give them a deed, which he refused to do. Synopsis of Rule of Law. “Where, acting under an oral contract for the transfer of an interest in land, the purchaser with the assent of the vendor takes possession thereof or retains possession thereof existing at the time of the bargain, and also pays a portion or all o ...
Palazzolo v. Rhode Island
Citation22 Ill.533 U.S. 606, 121 S. Ct. 2448, 150 L. Ed. 2d 592, 52 ERC 1609 (2001) Brief Fact Summary. In 1959, Palazzolo (Petitioner) and associates formed Shore Gardens, Inc. (SGI) and purchased parcels of land, which bordered a pond, other houses and was a marsh subject to tidal flooding. After trying to gain approval from the Rhode Island Division of Harbors and Rivers (DHR) for two development projects, which were not approved, the land was designated by the Council, an agency charged with the duty of protecting the state’s coastal properties, as protected “coastal wetland ...
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council
Citation505 U.S. 1003, 112 S. Ct. 2886, 120 L. Ed. 2d 798, 34 ERC 1897 (1992) Brief Fact Summary. Lucas (Petitioner) bought two residential lots on the Isle of Palms in Charleston County, South Carolina, upon which he intended to build single-family homes. In 1988, the South Carolina Legislature enacted the Beachfront Management Act (Act), barred Petitioner from erecting any permanent structures on the two lots. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When the state seeks to sustain regulation that deprives a landowner from all economic use, the state may resist compensation only if the logically anteced ...
Nollan v. California Coastal Commission
Citation22 Ill.483 U.S. 825, 107 S. Ct. 3141, 97 L. Ed. 2d 677, 26 ERC 1073 (1987) Brief Fact Summary. The Nollans (Appellants) have appealed from a decision of the California Court of Appeal, which ruled that the California Coastal Commission could condition its grant of permission to rebuild their house on the transfer to the public of an easement across their beachfront property. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Land use regulation does not constitute a taking if it substantially advances legitimate state interests and does not deny an owner economically viable use of his land ...
Dolan v. City of Tigard
Citation22 Ill.512 U.S. 374, 114 S. Ct. 2309, 129 L. Ed. 2d 304, 38 ERC 1769 (1994) Brief Fact Summary. In this case Dolan (Petitioner) challenges the decision of the Supreme Court of Oregon, which held that the City of Tigard could condition the approval of her building permit on the dedication of a portion of her property for flood control and traffic improvements. Synopsis of Rule of Law. No precise mathematical calculation is required, but the city must make some sort of individualized determination that the required dedication is related both in nature and extent to the impact of the ...
First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Glendale v. County of Los Angeles
Citation22 Ill.482 U.S. 304, 107 S. Ct. 2378, 96 L. Ed. 2d 250, 26 ERC 1001 (1987) Brief Fact Summary. The First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Glendale (Appellant) bought, in 1957, 21 acres of land in a canyon along the banks of Mill Creek in the Angeles National Forest. Appellant constructed a dining hall, two bunkhouses, a caretaker’s lodge, an outdoor chapel, and a footbridge across the creek on the land, known as Lutherglen. In July of 1977, a fire destroyed the acreage above the canyon and a flood then wiped out Lutherglen. In response, the County of Los Angeles (Appellee) issue ...
Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York
Citation22 Ill.439 U.S. 883, 99 S. Ct. 226, 58 L. Ed. 2d 198 (1978) Brief Fact Summary. Penn Central (Appellant) owned the Grand Central Terminal, which was designated by application of New York’s Landmarks Preservation Law to be a landmark. Thereafter, the Appellant entered into a renewable 50-year lease with UGP Properties, Ltd., a United Kingdom company, under which the UGP agreed to construct a multistory office building on top of the terminal. The plans for the new office building were submitted to the Commission for approval, which was denied. Synopsis of Rule of ...
Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp.
Citation458 U.S. 419, 102 S. Ct. 3164, 73 L. Ed. 2d 868, 8 Med. L. Rptr. 1849 (1982) Brief Fact Summary. A New York law authorized a cable television company to install its components on the property of a landlord, who may not interfere with the installation and may not demand payment from any tenant for permitting CATV, or demand payment from any CATV company in excess of an amount found to be reasonable by the state, which is set at $1. The landlord may require the CATV company or the tenant to bear the cost of the installation and to indemnify for any damage caused. Sy ...
City of Eastlake v. Forest City Enterprises, Inc
Citation22 Ill.426 U.S. 668, 96 S. Ct. 2358, 49 L. Ed. 2d 132 (1976) Brief Fact Summary. In this case Respondent sought to have a parcel of property rezoned from “light industrial” to permit the construction of a high-rise multi-family apartment building. The application for rezoning was in the process of approval when the voters of the City of Eastlake amended the city charter to require land use changes to be ratified by 55% of the voters to become effective. Synopsis of Rule of Law. As a basic instrument of democratic government, the referendum process does not, in itself, v ...
Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon
Citation260 U.S. 393, 43 S. Ct. 158, 67 L. Ed. 322 (1922) Brief Fact Summary. Mahon (Plaintiff) owned a house with surface rights to the land. Pennsylvania Coal Co. (Defendant) owned the mining rights, and was the grantor of Plaintiff’s estate. Plaintiff waived all claims arising from damages due to the mining of the coal beneath the land. The Kohler Act (Act) forbid the mining of coal when it causes the subsistence of any structure. Exceptions occur when the surface is owned by the owner of the underlying coal, and is more than hundred and fifty feet from any improved property belong ...
Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff
Citation22 Ill.467 U.S. 229, 104 S. Ct. 2321, 81 L. Ed. 2d 186 (1984) Brief Fact Summary. This case involved a constitutional challenge to a Hawaii law under which property held in fee simple by just a few people was condemned and sold to lessees of the property in order to re-distribute the fee simples on the island. The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that “private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.” Synopsis of Rule of Law. The mere fact that property taken outright by eminent domain is transferred in the first in ...
Stone v. City of Wilton
Citation22 Ill.331 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1983) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiffs bought a tract of land in the City of Wilton (Defendant), for the construction of low-income multi-family housing. At the time of purchase, approximately three-fourths of the land was zoned as multi-family residential. Prior to Plaintiffs’ construction, the city rezoned the entire six acres as single-family residential. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The standard for determining if a property owner has vested rights in a zoning classification is dependent on the type of the project, the location, the ultimate cost, an ...
Nectow v. City of Cambridge
Citation22 Ill.277 U.S. 183, 48 S. Ct. 447, 72 L. Ed. 842 (1928) Brief Fact Summary. The Plaintiff sued for a mandatory injunction directing the city to pass Plaintiff’s application for a permit to erect any lawful buildings upon a tract of land without regard to the inclusion of the tract of land in a zoning ordinance, which zoned the land residential. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The determination of public officers should not be set aside unless it is clear that their action has no foundation in reason and is a mere arbitrary or irrational exercise of power having no substantial relat ...
State Ex Rel. Miller v. Manders
Citation22 Ill.2 Wis. 2d 365, 86 N.W.2d 469 (1957) Brief Fact Summary. Green Bay, Wisconsin adopted an official map of the city showing established and proposed streets. The Plaintiff owned land, which was leased to Clark Oil and Refining Corporation for use as a service station. Immediately next to the service station, Plaintiff requested a building permit to build a restaurant, but the proposed building lay within a proposed roadway under the official map adopted in 1947, by the city. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The objective of the statute, which authorizes cities to adopt official maps an ...
Prah v. Maretti
Citation22 Ill.108 Wis. 2d 223, 321 N.W.2d 182 (1982) Brief Fact Summary. Maretti (Defendant) planned to build a house, which would obstruct Prah’s (Plaintiff) solar powered house from having an unobstructed view of the sun. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The court uses the balancing test, which compares the utility of use of the defendant to the gravity of harm to the plaintiff when considering a claim for private nuisance. ...
Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co.
Citation22 Ill.297 F. 307 (N.D. Ohio 1924) Brief Fact Summary. Amber Realty Company (Appellee) challenged the enforcement of a zoning ordinance on the ground that the enforcement would constitute an unconstitutional taking by devaluing his land. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The ordinance must find its justification in some aspect of the police power, which is asserted for the public welfare. The court used the doctrine of nuisance to determine whether the zoning exclusions were proper. ...
Wronski v. Sun Oil Company
Citation22 Ill.89 Mich. App. 11, 279 N.W.2d 564 (Ct. App. 1979) Brief Fact Summary. In this case, Sun Oil Company (Defendant) leased property, which had oil wells on it. The property was subject to an order by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which limited production to seventy-five barrels of oil per well per day. The Defendant is accused of overproducing 180,000 barrels of oil and draining oil from beneath Plaintiffs’ land. Synopsis of Rule of Law. If it can be said that Defendant’s overproduction deprived Plaintiffs of the opportunity to claim and take the oil u ...
United States v. Causby
Citation22 Ill.328 U.S. 256, 66 S. Ct. 1062, 90 L. Ed. 1206 (1946) Brief Fact Summary. Respondents claim that their property was taken, within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment, by the regular army and navy aircraft flights over their house and chicken farm. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The airspace is a public highway, but if the landowner is to have the full enjoyment of his land, he must have exclusive control over the immediate reaches of the enveloping atmosphere. ...
Armstrong v. Francis Corp
Citation22 Ill.20 N.J. 320, 120 A.2d 4 (1956) Brief Fact Summary. Francis Corporation (Defendant) cleared a 42-acre tract and placed 186 houses thereon, and, in the process, diverted and greatly increased the amount and flow of water in a small stream on the property. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The court will follow a “reasonable use” rule regarding the expulsion of surface waters from one’s property. So long as the Defendant’s use of his land is reasonable then no liability attaches. ...
Evans v. Merriweather
Citation View this case and other resources at: Brief Fact Summary. Merriweather (Plaintiff) owned a mill downstream from Evans’s (Defendant) mill. The stream, which powered both mills, was usually of sufficient flow to not cause any problems, but in 1837, a drought caused the stream to lose a considerable amount of flow. The Defendant diverted the stream, by using a dam, into Defendant’s well, causing Plaintiff’s mill to cease operation. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A person with a stream running through their land may use all of the stream if the use is for home or livesto ...
Stratton v. Mt. Hermon Boys’ School
Citation22 Ill.216 Mass. 83, 103 N.E. 87 (1913) Brief Fact Summary. Defendant owns land on a stream, which runs through Plaintiff’s mill. The Defendant operated a pump, which diverted 60,000 gallons of water each day from the stream to another of Defendant’s properties, the Mt. Hermon Boys’ School. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A proprietor may make any reasonable use of the water of the stream in connection with his riparian estate and for lawful purposes within the watershed, provided he leaves the current of the stream diminished by no more than is reasonable, having regard ...
Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co
Citation22 Ill.26 N.Y.2d 219, 309 N.Y.S.2d 312, 257 N.E.2d 870, 1 ERC 1175 (1970) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiffs are neighboring landowners of Atlantic Cement Company (Defendant) and have sought an injunction and damages in this suit arising from injuries suffered to their properties from dirt, smoke and vibration. The trial court found a nuisance and awarded temporary damages, but declined to enjoin the Defendant. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Ordinarily, when a nuisance is found, an injunction will be ordered to abate the nuisance, but this court created an exception. The court ordered the in ...