Private Law: Property, Torts, and Contract

 This course describes and evaluates the fundamental doctrines in American law that govern the rights and responsibilities private actors have concerning other private actors, as opposed to the rights and responsibilities of private parties vis-à-vis the state. The course begins by asking what rights private parties have against competing claims by other private parties, how does the law define the boundaries of these rights, and how does the law offer protection against incursion by other parties?  These questions will engage, and lead us to study cases in, three major areas of substantive law commonly covered in the first year of law school:  Property, Torts, and Contract.