Glass v. Goeckel

703 N.W.2d 58 (2005)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Ds own property on the shore of Lake Huron, and their deed defines one boundary as 'the meander line of Lake Huron.' P owns property located across the highway from Ds' lakefront home. P's deed provides for a fifteen-foot easement across Ds' property 'for ingress and egress to Lake Huron,' and she asserts that she and her family members have used the easement consistently since 1967 to gain access to the lake. The parties have resolved their dispute about P's use of that easement. During the proceedings below, P sought to enjoin Ds from interfering with her walking along the shoreline. Ds argued that, as a matter of law, P could not walk on Ds' property between the ordinary high water mark and the lake without Ds' permission. The trial court granted P summary disposition. It held that P had the right to walk 'lakewards of the natural ordinary high water mark.' The Court of Appeals reversed. The Court held that, apart from navigational issues, the state holds title to previously submerged land, subject to the exclusive use of the riparian owner up to the water's edge. Thus, P nor any other member of the public has a right to traverse the land between the statutory ordinary high water mark and the literal water's edge. P appealed.