Case library · Whose Fish Are They?
Mud Flats and Marinas
Marks v. Whitney (1971)
Charge: Filling public-trust tidelandsCourt: Supreme Court of CaliforniaState: CaliforniaDocket: Whose Fish Are They?
Is patented tideland still burdened by public rights, and may a neighbor raise them in a title suit?
The facts
A man held patented tideland on the edge of a bay, a strip of mud flat running a few hundred feet along the shore, and planned to fill it and build a marina. The upland owner next door had a wharf running out over the flat and objected. In a suit brought to settle the boundary and clear the title, the neighbor asked the court to declare that the public's rights still burdened the ground.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Marks v. Whitney, 6 Cal. 3d 251, 491 P.2d 374 (1971)
Read more at law.justia.com. The source reveals the outcome.