Adams v. Pease
Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors
2 Conn. 481 (1818)
- Written by Erin Enser, JD
Facts
Adams (plaintiff) owned a farm that was bounded on one side by the Connecticut River. The river was a common mode of transportation utilized by the public, and it was understood that the right to use the river for transport was important. Where it abutted Adams’s property, the river was passable by flat-bottomed boats carrying loads of no more than 30 tons, but it was not passable to ships, nor was it affected by the rising and falling of the tides of the sea. Pease and another (collectively, the fishermen) (defendants), in fishing boats, entered the portion of the river abutting Adams’s property and removed approximately 3,000 fish. Adams brought a claim against the fishermen for trespass quare clausum fregit, arguing that the submerged land from which the fishermen removed the fish belonged to him, as did the exclusive right to fish on this land. The facts were presented to the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors for consideration.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Swift, C.J.)
Concurrence (Hosmer, J.)
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