Also known as: property interests · proprietary interest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal right or entitlement in property or a benefit secured by law that supports claims to protection or enforcement. The interest arises from independent sources such as state statutes, contracts, or common law rather than from the Constitution itself.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Parker Phillips retained counsel to pursue a personal-injury claim. The lawyer proposed taking a direct ownership stake in the lawsuit proceeds as additional compensation beyond a contingent fee. The arrangement would give the lawyer a proprietary interest in the subject matter of the litigation.
Platinum Partners held a commercial easement in gross allowing pipeline access across several parcels. The company later conveyed the easement to a utility operator for value. The transfer treated the easement as an alienable property interest because of its commercial character.
Pierce Patterson owned land subject to a recorded servitude requiring maintenance of a drainage ditch. After selling the parcel to a developer, Patterson received a demand for repairs that arose after the transfer. Liability attached only to the party holding the burdened interest at the time the obligation accrued.
Penelope Price sought a building permit to expand her beachfront home. The city required her to convey a public access easement across the property as a condition of approval. The demanded conveyance bore no essential relationship to any impact caused by the proposed expansion.
Paragon Construction borrowed funds from a bank and granted a security interest in its heavy machinery to secure repayment. The bank perfected the interest under Article 9. The interest qualified as a property right in the collateral that protected the lender against nonpayment.
Priscilla Parks owned land benefited by a recorded access easement over neighboring property. After selling the benefited parcel, Parks attempted to enforce the easement for her own remaining holdings. Enforcement rights ended once she no longer held the benefited property interest.
Property interests arise from independent sources such as state statutes, regulations, or contracts that secure benefits and support claims of entitlement. The Constitution itself does not create these interests. Once state law defines an entitlement, the Due Process Clause protects against its deprivation without adequate procedures.
An exaction that requires conveyance of a property interest such as an easement constitutes a taking unless an essential nexus exists between the condition and a legitimate governmental interest that would justify outright denial of the permit. The condition must also be roughly proportional to the impact of the proposed development.
…contemplated uses of land, this Court has upheld land-use regulations that destroyed or adversely affected recognized real property interests. See Nectow v. Cambridge , 277 U. S. 183, 188 (1928). Zoning laws are, of course, the classic example, see Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. , 272 U. S. 365 (1926) (prohibition of…
…interest. This Court consistently has held that some form of hearing is required before an individual is finally deprived of a property interest
…Constitution, the Court concluded that that word "has application only postnatally." Id. , at 157. Commenting on the contingent
…individual beneficiary does or could examine all that is published to see if something may be tucked away in it that affects his property interests
…a taking. To say that the appropriation of a public easement across a landowner's premises does not constitute the taking of a property interest
Commercial easements in gross are alienable property interests. They may be conveyed or subjected to the same restrictions on alienability that apply to estates in land of like duration. Noncommercial easements in gross are governed by the terms of their creation.
A party or successor incurs liability on a servitude burden only for obligations that accrue while holding the burdened property interest. The same temporal limit applies to enjoyment of a servitude benefit. Obligations in gross are governed by contract principles.
A security interest is an interest in personal property or fixtures that secures payment or performance of an obligation. The definition includes interests of consignors and certain buyers subject to Article 9 but excludes a buyer's special property interest upon identification of goods under Section 2-401.