Real Covenants and Other Interests Which “Run with the Land”

Abstract

This second edition of Judge Clark's classic little book is designed to serve the same purpose as the first: to bring clarification to that peculiarly obscure body of doctrine and practice known as the law of "rights in the land of another." The first edition was hailed, despite its brevity, as one of the few great law books of our time; this new edition merits and is receiving similar acclaim. In the first edition the author, restricting himself largely to the problem of "the transferability of those non-possessory interests in land traditionally known as incorporeal hereditaments," announced his aim as being "to state clearly the conflicting views of policy" and "to set forth a more accurate historical perspective, particularly in the law of covenants running with the land where it is believed that false notions of history have hampered the development of a consistent modern doctrine." In the present edition he elaborates his purpose as, not "reform or rewriting," but "clear exposition," "exposition and clarification through analysis of precedents." This objective will not be scorned by scholars and practitioners who are concerned to preserve the widest possible scope for private agreement and to make private agreement a more effective instrument of land planning and development in individual and community interest.