Questions. 1. Mostel Aria was a creepy character who lived along the Via Appia south of Rome

1. Mostel Aria was a creepy character who lived along the Via Appia south of Rome. His property abutted on the graves of the Scipio family and one day he decided to take over their family plot and develop it into his own haunted house theme park. Unfortunately, after he had gained control of the land, Milo, the local thug, picked up Mostel Aria, physically threw him off the land, and put his own tent up there to signal that he now possessed the plot. What did the praetor do when Mostel Aria begged him for help?

2. Bonus Agricola had a wonderful cow. Unfortunately he developed arthritis and could not continue to milk it. He then lent it to my grandfather to keep and milk. Soon Bonus died of a broken heart and my grandfather was kicked by the cow and died intestate. All unawares, I took over the cow and gave it to my good friend, Amica, who kept it for four years. Can she usucapt?

Driven mad by a headache, Boswell ran into the house of his neighbor, Johnson and grabbed an Alka Seltzer tablet. He dropped it into a glass of water which he had drawn from the well in his own back yard and was about to drink it when Johnson rushed in, seized the glass and took Boswell to court. Who owned the drink?

3. Frank Gehry was an eccencentric and famous architect. He conceived the ambition to design and build a house but the only suitable setting for it was on the land of his neighbor Richard Rogers, an absentee landlord. Assuming Rogers wouldn't mind, Gehry set to work using material which belonged, unbeknownst to him, to Frank Lloyd Wright. The building was later judged a priceless masterpiece. Rogers returned and Wright came by and recognized his materials. All three claimed the house. What was the legal situation?

4. One day, Gilligan discovered a tiny, previously uncharted island. He took possession of it and of the herd of deer which he found on it. Eighteen months later, he returned and found Skipper there, who had arrived the day after he had left and claimed that he owned both the island and the deer. Did he?

5. In the second century BC, the famous Roman tribune C.Gracchus tried to take power from the aristocarcy by ramming revolutionary legislation through the popular assemblies. In the ensuing riots he and several associates were killed and, as it happened, some property which formed part of the returnable dowry of his wife, Licinia, was destroyed. Could she recover its value from anyone?

6. My neighbor and I both have gardens behind our houses. One day, he builds a large addition on the back of his house to cover his mushrooms. This blocks all light from my vegetable garden. Can I sue him?

7. Although he lives in the city, City mouse retains a keen love of hunting. His friend, Country Mouse, sells him the right of way over part of his land. When City Mouse dies, he leaves the servitude to his heir, but Country Mouse forbids the heir to enjoy it. Who is right?

8. Plato has the usufruct of Socrates' slave Epicurus. He uses him to care for his chickens. One day, on the way to market, Epicurus spies a diamond on the land of Plato's neighbor, Zeno, and retrieves it. Who owns the diamond? If Epicurus doubled the revenus of the chickens by a revolutionary means of egg production, who gets the profits? If someone leaves Epicurus a legacy, who gets it?

9. Ferocius is a five-year-old psychopath who wishes to build a financial empire. He therefore fools his father, Stupidus, an interdicted prodigal sui iuris, aged 23, into buying the river Tiber for a million dollars and he bullies a deaf and dumb lady into stipulating for a right of way through the Tiber. Problems arise as to the validity of these contracts: advise Ferocius of his rights.

10. Crocodile Dundee had a beautiful riverside property on the Tiber. One day, he saw Marlin Perkins and Big Jim putting in with their dingy along his shoreline. This got Dundee's dander up and he headed for the boat. As he approached, he noticed that Jim had just jumped out, captured a wild Python along the shoreline and hoisted it into the boat. By the time Dundee reached the boat, he was steamed and demanded both a docking fee and a fine for capturing the python. What did Marlin and Jim (and the nature channel) have to pay?

11. In AD 100, Marcus had a house which he sold to Gaius by traditio. One year later, Gaius died and his only son, Gaius Junior, born to one of Gaius' slaves, took over his father's estate. When Marcus learned that Gaius now had this house, he came and ejected him from the property, claiming that the conveyance was defective. What could Gaius Junior do?

12. Marcus Lycus had a chariot which was stolen by Furtivus, who then pawned it to Magnus Maximus. Plagued by his indiscretion, Furtivus committed suicide and Magnus was so fat that he broke the chariot while driving it into Rome. Could Marcus Lycus sue Magnus Maximus for abuse of his property?

13. Babar, an only child, set off at the age of 22 to seek his fortune in Rome, leaving behind his African home and his family. Five years later, his mother and father died, but young Babar was too wrapped up in the jet set to come home. A squatter, General Cornelius, took over the estate. Seventeen more years passed and Babar returned home a broken elephant, middle-aged and penniless. His last hope was to win back the ancestral acres. Did he?