The 102-Year-Old Taking the State to Court
Alice Vance is suing to stop a highway expansion using a legal argument based on her 1940s land deed. Her case highlights the specific, archaic property laws that still dictate how modern infrastructure must be built or diverted.
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A nineteen forty-four deed clause mandates Alice Vance’s land remain residential or agricultural despite highway plans.
Restrictive covenants attach to the physical soil and bind every future owner of the property.
Negative easements treat the right to forbid specific land uses as a tangible property interest.
Infrastructure delays from property disputes can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to construction costs.
Marketable Record Title Acts help states phase out land restrictions older than thirty or forty years.
Digitized land records allow lawyers to find obscure restrictions from the era of steam locomotives.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The Deed in the Cedar Chest3 min
- 03The Ghost of Property Law3 min
- 04The Infrastructure Standoff3 min
- 05The Final Verdict on Legacy2 min
- 06Outro1 min
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