Property Ownership Dispute Analysis

Selling Real Property

Ozzie was the owner of Woolacre, a *-acre alpaca farm, where he raised alpacas for their wool. Having been a successful entrepreneur and a loving father to his six children, Ozzie has lived a long and fruitful life. As he approached the end of his life, he wanted to ensure that his farmhand, Fran, took over the farm when he died. So, Ozzie prepared a valid quitclaim deed granting Woolacre to Fran. He called Fran and said, “Fran, Woolacre is now yours. I am going to continue to live there until I die, but you are the true owner as of today.” Ozzie then took the deed to the local bank, and he instructed the banker to keep it in a safe deposit box. “This is the deed to Woolacre. I want Fran to have Woolacre now, but I’m going to continue to live there until I die,” Ozzie explained. Ozzie further instructed, “My lawyer, Bob Loblaw, is authorized to access the safe deposit box, and he will turn the deed over to Fran when I die.” The banker put the deed in an envelope labeled “Mr. Loblaw, Esq.” and placed it in the safe deposit box. This safe deposit box was a separate box from Ozzie’s personal safe deposit box, where he kept his passport, his birth certificate, his social security card, several stock certificate, and some heirloom jewelry. Ozzie continued to live on Woolacre and manage the alpaca farm. Unfortunately, the region suffered a drought, and the business suffered as well. When it became clear to Ozzie that the farm could not remain solvent, he decided to sell Woolacre. After thorough negotiations, Ozzie entered into a contract to sell Woolacre to Belle. Belle specialized in both water technology and animal husbandry, and she was sure she could make Woolacre successful once again. At the closing, Ozzie delivered a valid special warranty deed to Belle, and Belle delivered the purchase price to Ozzie. Belle’s confidence, however, was undue; within five years of purchasing Woolacre, her alpaca farm failed. The hydration system she designed was prohibitively expensive and the alpacas’ coats were matted and dull. Belle, knowing that she could no longer maintain the farm, sought a buyer. Caroline jumped at the chance to purchase Woolacre from Belle, as she had always wanted to raise llamas for their wool, and she was certain that Woolacre was the perfect farm for this purpose. Caroline and Belle negotiated and executed a contract for the sale of Woolacre. At closing Belle delivered a general warranty deed to Caroline, and Caroline delivered the purchase price. As the years progressed, Caroline’s foray into llama-farming proved immensely successful. She turned the fate of Woolacre around, making it the most profitable llama wool producer in the nation. She loved the land and the animals in spite of all their spitting and humming, and she installed a relatively simple hydration system to ensure that drought would never again harm the animals. Fifteen years after Caroline purchased Woolacre, Ozzie died. As was planned, Bob Loblaw gave the deed to Woolacre to Fran. Fran began making plans for the construction of an alpaca-themed amusement park called “Llama Land.” When Fran showed up at Woolacre with a team of bulldozers, Caroline filed suit against Ozzie’s estate. Assuming the statute of limitations for deed covenants is 10 years and this jurisdiction has no recording statutes in place, who will prevail?

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