Hinckley Allen claimed an important win for private property rights in Rhode Island last week. In Roth v. Rhode Island, Hinckley Allen challenged the constitutionality of newly enacted state legislation that significantly...more
In June 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly enacted legislation granting the public expanded “privileges of the shore,” including but not limited to the right to fish from the shore, to swim in the sea and to pass along...more
On November 25, 2019, the California Court of Appeal ruled that the public’s use of a road for more than half a century to access Martin’s Beach was permissive, and therefore “did not ripen into a public dedication that would...more
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The California Constitution contains a similar provision. Reading these constitutional...more
Thanks to all of you who were able to attend Nossaman’s Coastal Law Conference last week. If you missed the event, I provided an update on sea-level rise, managed retreat, and potential eminent domain / regulatory takings...more
he Superior Court of New Jersey (“Court”) addressed in a March 27th opinion the impact of state ownership on a conflict over access to a waterbody. See Rapisardi v. Estate of Lange, No. A-37322-16T2, 2018 WL 1473918 (N.J....more
The Missouri Court of Appeals addressed in a June 19th opinion whether an abutting landowner had riparian rights to a man-made waterbody. See Incline Village Board of Trustees v. Edler, 2018 WL 3028993. The key issue was...more
The Michigan Court of Appeals addressed in a January 16th opinion an action in which the Plaintiff sought to limit the rights of non-riparian lot owners to maintain a dock at the end of a dedicated private road abutting a...more
The stakes could not be higher; would the property yield one or two waterfront building lots? On June 23, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States decided a case that involved the merger of two parcels of property...more
What part of a beach in North Carolina is subject to public use and what part is private property was recently addressed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Nies v. Town of Emerald Isle (Nov. 17, 2015). This case...more