Also known as: dominion · domigerium · ownership · title · sovereignty
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Absolute ownership of property that includes the rights to possession, use, and control. The holder may retain or transfer the property at will, subject to any servitudes or restrictions. Over time the term also came to denote bare ownership separate from possession or use.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Diane Dawson holds dominium in an apartment building. She transfers possession to tenants who sleep there nightly. When she enters a unit at night intending to steal from a tenant, the structure qualifies as the dwelling of another because occupancy controls the inquiry.
Daniel Diaz contracts to sell land in which he holds dominium. A recorded lien clouds title. The buyer refuses to close because the title is not free from reasonable doubt and a prudent purchaser would reject it.
Deanna Davenport owns dominium in a factory where a machine injures a worker. After the incident she installs a guard. At trial the plaintiff offers the guard installation to prove negligence, but the evidence is excluded for that purpose.
Dolores Diaz holds dominium in a law-school building. She permits her judicial title to be used in connection with a fundraising gala at the school. Because the event raises funds, she may participate only if the program concerns the administration of justice.
Damian Decker holds dominium in client files at his current firm. Before joining a new firm he discloses party names and claim types from those files solely to detect conflicts. The disclosure is permitted because it does not compromise privilege or prejudice clients.
Deborah Dunn conveys dominium in a house to a buyer who leases it back to her. After the lease terminates she remains in possession without claiming superior title. Her continued occupancy creates an estate at sufferance.
Dominium confers absolute ownership with rights to possession, use, and transfer at will. Possession alone does not include the power to alienate the property or to exclude others as owner.
Supporting sources
Yes. When tenants occupy the building as their dwelling, the owner’s dominium does not prevent the structure from being regarded as the dwelling of another.
Supporting sources
No. A seller holding dominium must still deliver title free from reasonable doubt. Recorded liens or gaps in the chain can render title unmarketable even though the seller owns the property.
Supporting sources
…to particular questions but not to the general competency to be sworn as witnesses. Mr. Lee illustrated that if one claimed title to land under a patent from the United States and the Secretary refused a copy, a mandamus could compel production; to obtain a mandamus one must show the patent is recorded and clerks can…