Property

Fact pattern

Whiteacre is a tract of land that includes a house. The owner, O, conveys Whiteacre using the following language: “To A, provided that the premises are not used for commercial purposes, and if the premises are so used, then O or O’s heirs may enter and terminate the estate herein conveyed.” While A owns Whiteacre, A refrains from commercial activity on the premises. 

A then conveys all of A’s interest in Whiteacre to B, who immediately converts the house to a law office. Assume that this qualifies as a commercial purpose within the meaning of O’s conveyance. 

For the next 12 months, O neither enters Whiteacre nor communicates with B. At the end of this period, O dies, leaving all of O’s real and personal property to O’s sole heir, X. 

X has never been to Whiteacre, nor have X and B ever communicated. Soon after O’s death, X conveys Whiteacre to Y in fee simple. B learns of the conveyance to Y. B then sends a letter to Y asserting that Y has no legal interest in Whiteacre, and that B now holds Whiteacre in fee simple absolute.

The applicable law is the common law of property.

Questions

1. Upon O’s death, what legal interests do B and X, respectively, hold in Whiteacre? Explain, including an assessment of the legal significance of O’s inaction after B began using Whiteacre for commercial purposes.
2. Upon the conveyance from X to Y, what legal interest does Y hold in Whiteacre? Explain.