Additiol1alterms in acceptal1ce or confirmation.

(1) Adefinite and seasonable expression of acceptance or a written confirmation which is sent within

a reasonable time operates as an acceptance even though it states terms additional to or

different from those offered or agreed upon, unless acceptance is expressly made conditional on

assent to the additional or different terms.

(2) The additional terms are to be construed as proposals for addition to the contract. Between

merchants suchterms become part of the contract unless:

(a) the offer expressly limits acceptance to the terms of the offer;

(b) they materially alter it; or

(c) notification of objection to them has already been given or is given within a reasonable time

after notice of them is received.

(3) Conduct by both parties which recognizes the existence of a contract is sufficient to establish a

contract for sale although the writings of the parties do not otherwise establish a contract. In

such case, the terms of the particular contract consist of those terms on which the writings of

the parties agree, together with any supplementary terms incorporated under any other

provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Text 3: extract from a legal decision

This extract from one of the leading decisions in your jurisdiction regarding a

similar case addresses the principles underlying section 2-207 (see Text 2).

impose

all of the terms

not agree drop out,

terms.

both parties

in their contract.

a contract and

whatever reason, they

neither party should

Case Study 2: Contract law E

Realpropertylaw

Reading 1: I on p

The following text serves as an introduction to basic concepts and terms used in real

property law, many of which have been in use for hundreds of years.

1 Read the text and decide whether these statements are true or false.

1 The term of years of a freehold estate is not fixed.

2 The term reversion refers to the passing of real property to the State when

the owner of the property has died and has no legal heirs.

3 A licence grants exclusive possession of a property.

4 The Statute of Frauds permits oral contracts in the case of leases if the

duration is more than a certain number of stipulated years.

~

s: *

11'1

p

2 The key terms heir, grantee and tenant all appear in the text on page 134. This

is a more complete list of parties named in legal documents dealing with real

property law. Match each pair (1-3) with its explanation (a-c).

1 decedent/heir a a person who transfers property / a person to whom property is

transferred (in real property law synonymous with assignor/assignee)

b a person (usually the owner) who gives another person a lease in

return for rent / a person to whom a lease is given in return for rent

(in real property law synonymous with lessor/lessee)

c a person who has died / a person who is entitled to inherit property

2 grantor/grantee

3 landlord/tenant

9 e 1: ing i

Two ideas can be contrasted With each other using the wOrds whereas and

while:

Real property refers tp land and anything permanently attached to the land,

whereas/while personal property refers to all other property.

Both whereas and while Cqp appear at the beginning of the sentence as well:

W~ereas/While teal property refers to land and anything penTlCJnently

attached to the land, personal property refers to all otherproperty.

It should be noted that whereas is used in Legal English two di$tinct ways.

The first use has the meaning of 'bur on the contrary' (as the present

example). The second use is at the beginning of recitals, the setting forth

of facts Orother importantmatt.er a deed, contract or other legal document.

Whereas, the partiesvyish to amend certain terms of the Sales Contract; and

Whereas, certain capitalised terms not otherwise defineclherein are defined

in the Sales Contract ."

3 Contrast these key terms using whereas or while. You may need to consult the

glossary.

1 freehold estate / leasehold

2 fee simple / fee tail

3 lease / licence

4 easement / usufruct

9 e 2: ng ng hing

r 0

Classification is an effective way to structUre complex information So that it

can be more easily understood by listeners. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 6 of the text

on page 134 contain verbs and phrases for classifying ideas and

distinguishing categories:

distinguish, divided, fall under the heading of, includes, is a general term for,

refers to, types

Unit 10 Real propertylaw

E

4 Complete these sentences using the classification words and phrases in the

second box on page 135.

1 English-speaking jurisdictions generally..

distinction between real and personal property.

2 Real property land, tenements and hereditaments which,

upon the death of the owner, pass to his heirs.

3 Personal property . everything which does not

real property.

4 Real property can be ../ classified / categorised /

grouped into freehold estates and leaseholds.

5 Essentially, there are four / kinds / classes / categories

of freehold estate: the fee simple, the fee tail, the life estate and the estate

pur autre vie.

6 Real property law. ."""""."."'"'''''' / encompasses such things as

easements, usufructs, mortgages and other financing measures.

5 Rewrite sentence 4 from Exercise 4 in four different ways, each using a

different classifying phrase. Make changes in sentence structure or add words

as necessary.

.. / make a

EXAMPLE: Reol property mc.U.A<iesstAch t¥1mgs (A.Sfrecl1ol<t estoJ;es lU1cL

Leo.-sehol<ts.

ning 1: e

One of the key terms mentioned above is easement, which is a right acquired for access

to or use of another person's land for a specific purpose. In the following listening

exercise, you will hear an excerpt of a seminar held by a lawyer as part of a training

course for estate agents. It is the lawyer's task to provide basic legal information on

issues which the agents may one day encounter in the course of their work. In the

excerpt, the lawyer presents a general classification of easements, explaining the

different types his listeners need to know about.

6 Before you listen, discuss this question.

What other legal issues might an estate agent need to be informed about?

7 .. ~ Listen and answer these questions.

1 What is the purpose of a temporary easement?

2 Explain what is meant by open, notorious and continuous use.

3 What does an easement by necessity refer to?

8 Complete these sentences, in which the speaker classifies information. Use no

more than three words for each space.

1 Generally speaking,. two fundamental types of

easements: temporary and permanent.

2 Permanent easements can be . three common types.

These three are the easement in gross, the prescriptive easement and the

easement appurtenant.

3 This """""""""""" those easements which are given to a quasi-public

corporation, such as the electric or phone company.

4 . of an easement appurtenant is called an easement by

necessity.

~

n-

A statement

help you

topic of X. I will discuss the three most

important types

I would like to

between two

In our country, we distinguish

The overall

in the clas

presentation

conclusion.

presentation will be determined by the elements

a three-oart classification will lead to a

points and a

When making

the move to

another, it is common to signal

point by using phrases such as the following:

Movingto

That brings me to my next point.

Toturn to / Turningto the second type of X,

9 ..;:: Listen again or read the transcript on page 272. How does the speaker

indicate a change to a new point? Add the signals to the list above.

ng 1: p

10Choose a topic related to real property law in yourjurisdiction which lends itself

to structuring by means of classification. Prepare a short presentation, making

use of the phrases for classifying, structuring and signalling presented above.

Some possible topics are:

0 Types of tenancy agreements

0 Types of concurrent ownership of property

0 Types of estates

0 Tenant's rights

0 Landlord's rights

ng 2: p

Lawfirms commonly print brochures or create web pages in order to make their areas of

expertise known to prospective clients. This kind of text, or competency statement, is

usually entitled 'Practice Areas' and generally lists the areas of the law in which the firm

has performed successfully and the areas which staff members have most experience in.

11Read the competency statement of a large American law firm on page 138.

What area of the law does the firm handle in addition to real property? What

two types of disputes are explicitly named in the text?

Unit 10 Real property law

E

Ourfirmhas

species,

Wehave

privatelands,

boundarydispUtes,

Inaddition,our

transadions,

Dueto our

provideE

propertyowners.

1.2Decide whether Johnson, Fabian and Brugger is the right firm for these parties

(1-4) to consult for legal assistance.

1 Mr Simmons is engaged in a dispute with Mr Burns concerning repairs that

must be made to a pipe leading through Mr Burns' property to Mr Simmons'

house. Mr Burns refuses to allow the workers access to his property.

2 Mr Wyatt produces a natural insecticide from the seeds of a type of Indian

tree which grows on his property and has been selling it to organic farmers

in his region. A pharmaceutical company is suing him for infringement of

patent rights.

3 Mr Parker's neighbour operates a private childcare centre within her property.

During the summer, the children spend a lot of time outside, and the noise

level is extremely high. Mr Parker and his neighbour agreed to install a

fence, but disagree about the exact boundary between their properties and

about who should pay for the fence.

4 Mr Tanaka is a landscape architect working under subcontract with a

construction company on the site of a large private home. The lead

contractor has filed for bankruptcy protection. Mr Tanaka wants to know

whether he can stop work, pack up his gear and walk off the job site. He

also wants to know whether he can enforce his mechanics' lien rights

against the real property's owner.

1.3Read the text again and answer these questions.

1 What are the phrases in italics used to express?

2 Underline the verb tenses in the text. Which verb tense is used most often?

Why?

3 Find two words in the text that are synonyms of the word case.

4 Which sentence of the text expresses what the firm can do?

,

Writing 1: bing firm practi areas

14Using the phrases in italics in the text, write a short description of the practice

areas of your own law firm or of a law firm you are familiar with.

Note some of the important features of such a statement:

0 It is written in the first person plural (the 'we' perspective);

0 Much of the information is provided in the form of lists;

0 The present perfect tense is used to refer to what the firm has done;

0 The text may begin with a reference to the firm's history and may conclude

with a statement that sums up what the firm can do.

Reading 3: Understan

me

ng a or nancy

A landlordwhowishes to lease property to a tenant will often consult a lawyer for

assistance in drawing up a lease. A prospective tenant, on the other hand, might ask a

lawyer to review the terms and conditions of a lease before entering into such an

agreement. Both will require the services of legal counsel in the event of a serious

dispute concerning a lease.

15Tick the sections or clauses you would expect to find in a lease tenancy.

Parties

Term

Non-competition

Statutory conditions

Confidentiality

Rent amount and payments

Acceleration

Method of payment

Force majeure

Deposit

DDDDDDDDDD

Can you think of any other clauses and sections that are generally included in

a lease?

16Look at the title of the text on page 140. What are statutory conditions? Can

you think of the kinds of thing that might come under statutory conditions in a

lease agreement?

17The text is an excerpt from a lease, setting forth the statutory conditions

applying to the lease. Read it and complete the spaces (1-7) using these subheadings.

a Abandonment and termination

b Sub-letting premises

c Entry of premises

d Entry doors

e Conditions of premises

f Services

g Good behaviour

h Obligation of the tenant

Unit 10 Real property law

E

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 826