Also known as: ius possessionis · right of possession
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal right to possess property that may exist independently of full ownership. The right arises from lawful acquisition or grant and permits the holder to exclude others from the property while it lasts.
Jordan Jenkins holds title to a commercial building subject to a mortgage held by Jefferson Trust. Without consent Jenkins removes load-bearing walls and converts the structure into open-plan offices, lowering its market value. The mortgagee invokes its remedies because Jenkins's jus possessionis does not authorize physical changes that impair security.
Joy Jiang, head curator at a museum, receives sculptures from a donor and is authorized to catalog and store them. Jiang secretly loans one sculpture to a private gallery for a personal fee and falsifies records. Because Jiang held lawful jus possessionis at the time of the conversion, the conduct constitutes embezzlement rather than larceny.
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A father executes a written instrument transferring ownership of a painting to his son while expressly reserving a life estate for himself. The father retains physical possession during his lifetime. The father's jus possessionis continues under the life estate even though ownership of the remainder has passed to the son.
Jorge Juarez leases commercial space from a landlord who promises possession on a stated date. The landlord fails to deliver keys or remove the prior occupant. Juarez's jus possessionis is breached because the landlord did not tender the premises free of paramount claims.
Jennifer Jackson operates an organic farm adjacent to a cooperative that applies herbicides by air. Drift from the applications lands on Jackson's crops. The cooperative's conduct invades Jackson's jus possessionis even though no physical entry by the cooperative itself occurred.
Jillian James and her husband hold homestead property as joint tenants. The husband executes a deed conveying his interest to himself without obtaining James's competent signature. The statute protecting the homestead invalidates the conveyance because James's jus possessionis in the homestead cannot be alienated without her joinder.
Jus possessionis is the right to hold and control property and to exclude others, while ownership includes the additional rights to alienate and to enjoy the full economic value. A life tenant or lessee possesses jus possessionis without holding fee simple title.
Embezzlement requires that the defendant first acquire or hold the property under a claim of lawful jus possessionis and only later convert it. Larceny requires a trespassory taking from someone who already holds the superior right of possession at the moment of acquisition.
When an item is intentionally placed and then forgotten, the owner of the premises where it is found holds the jus possessionis against all but the true owner. The finder or temporary occupant does not acquire that right.
A mortgagee generally lacks jus possessionis until foreclosure or appointment of a receiver. The mortgagor retains the right of possession subject to the duty not to commit waste that impairs the mortgage security.
…met or, alternatively, that a donor may not make a valid inter vivas gift of a chattel and retain a life estate with a complete right of possession. Following a seven-day nonjury trial, Special Term found that plaintiff had failed to establish any of the elements of an inter vivas gift and that in any event an attempt by a donor to…