OWNERSHIP
ownership. The bundle of rights allowing one to use, manage, and enjoy property, including the right to convey it to others. • Ownership implies the right to possess a thing, regardless of any actual or constructive control. Ownership rights are general, permanent, and heritable. Cf.
POSSESSION; TITLE(1). [Cases: Property 7, 11. C.J.S. Property §§ 24–31, 33–34.]
“Ownership does not always mean absolute dominion. The more an owner, for his advantage, opens up his property for use by the public in general, the more do his rights become circumscribed by the statutory and constitutional powers of those who use it.” Marsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501, 506, 66 S.Ct. 276, 278 (1946)(Black, J.).
“Possession is the de facto exercise of a claim; ownership is the de jure recognition of one. A
thing is owned by me when my claim to it is maintained by the will of the state as expressed in the law; it is possessed by me, when my claim to it is maintained by my own self-assertive will. Ownership is the guarantee of the law; possession is the guarantee of the facts. It is well to have both forms if possible; and indeed they normally co-exist.” John Salmond, Jurisprudence 311 (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947).
bare ownership.See trust ownership.
beneficial ownership. 1. A beneficiary’s interest in trust property. — Also termed equitable ownership. [Cases: Trusts 139. C.J.S. Trover and Conversion § 251.] 2. A corporate shareholder’s power to buy or sell the shares, though the shareholder is not registered on the corporation’s books as the owner.
bonitary ownership (bahn-<
complete ownership.Hist. Louisiana law. See perfect ownership.
contingent ownership.Ownership in which title is imperfect but is capable of becoming
perfect on the fulfillment of some condition; conditional ownership.
corporeal ownership.The actual ownership of land or chattels.
equitable ownership.See beneficial ownership (1). full ownership.Hist. Louisiana law. See perfect ownership.
imperfect ownership.Louisiana law. Ownership of property subject to a usufruct interest held
by another. See La. Civ. Code art. 478. — Also termed naked ownership.
incorporeal ownership.The ownership of rights in land or chattels.
joint ownership.Undivided ownership shared by two or more persons. • Typically, an owner’s interest, at death, passes to the surviving owner or owners by virtue of the right of survivorship.
[Cases: Joint Tenancy 1. C.J.S. Estates § 19; Joint Tenancy§§ 2, 4, 7–9.] naked ownership.Louisiana law. See imperfect ownership.
ownership in common.Ownership shared by two or more persons whose interests are divisible. • Typically their interests, at death, pass to the dead owner’s heirs or successors. [Cases:
Tenancy in Common 1. C.J.S. Estates § 19; Tenancy in Common §§ 2–5.]
perfect ownership.Hist. Louisiana law. The complete bundle of rights to use, enjoy, and
dispose of property without limitation. — Also termed full ownership; complete ownership.
qualified ownership.Ownership that is shared, restricted to a particular use, or limited in the
extent of its enjoyment.
trust ownership.A trustee’s interest in trust property. — Also termed bare ownership. [Cases:
Trusts 133. C.J.S. Trover and Conversion §§ 245–246.]
unqualified ownership.Absolute ownership. vested ownership.Ownership in which title is perfect; absolute ownership.
[Blacks Law 8th]