Perpetuities Live On

Like the zombie to the right, the Rule Against Perpetuities never dies and always marches forward. Most recently, in Yowell v. Granite Operating Co, the Supreme Court found that a reserved overriding royalty interest was an interest in real property (as well as a contract right) and could thus be subject to the Rule. Fortunately for Ruleaphobes, the Court also held: “Reformation under [CPRC] section 5.043 is not an ‘action’ to which the residual statute of limitations would apply. Rather, the Legislature enacted a remedial mandate for courts to reform interests, like the one in this case, that violate the Rule.” No. 18-0841 (May 15, 2020).

No Hughes tolling

“Long after a corporate officer incurred personal liability for transferring corporate assets in violation of a federal statute, he sued the lawyer who purportedly ‘blessed’ the transactions without warning him about the collateral consequences.” Limitations on the officer’s legal-malpractice claim against that lawyer was time-barred because Hughes tolling was not available: “[T]he legal advice Erikson provided—approving Marine’s transfer of assets to creditors—was, at best, incidental to and tangentially related to the ongoing . . . litigation.” Erikson v. Renda, No. 18-0486 (Dec. 20, 2019) (emphasis added).