Property Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Property Law - Essay Example Therefore only a genuine owner of a property can actually sell, transfer or dispose of it1 and this suggests that Colonel Cadwallader is the person with the right to sell the violin, not Bill Sykes. The same principle is also stated reiterated in the law regarding sales2 so that a buyer who purchases a property from a seller who does not have necessary authority from the actual owner, or an acquired consent from the real owner after the sale has been finalized, does not acquire a valid title over the property just purchased. Therefore, you will note that at the outset, there appears to be a possibility that since Lady Fotherington Thomas has not acquired the property from the actual owner, the principle of nemo dat quod non habet may well apply to this case to render the sale invalid. However, it must also be established that Bill Sykes did not have a valid authorization from Colonel Cadwallader to sell the violin. In this case, the title on the property that Bill Sykes has acquired through fraudulently posing as someone else is voidable under law.3 But if the voidable title is not avoided by the actual owner before the latter sells it to a third party, then there is a holding out, in which case the new buyer acquires valid title to the property.4 Therefore it would appear that since Colonel Cadwallader has not avoided the voidable title before Bill Sykes has sold it to the violin dealer and Lady Fotherington-Thomas, therefore she does acquire valid title to the property. We may also find support for this position in the law in the form of the rights of buyers in possession5 and Lady Fotherington Thomas may be entitled to retain possession on three grounds (a) Bill Sykes initially obtained possession of the Stradivirus with the consent of the colonel and (b) she received the property in good faith and without receiving notice of liens possessed by