Bott v. Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Bott (plaintiff) owned land that contained a lake entirely within its property. The lake had no inlet but had an outlet connecting to a lake with numerous riparian owners and a public access site. The depth of the water in the outlet was two feet at its deepest point. After the purchase of the land, local authorities informed Bott that he could not block public access to the lake. Bott filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment that the lake within his property and its outlet connecting it to the other lake were non-navigable, private bodies of water from which he could exclude the public. The trial court found that the lake was a private, non-navigable body of water from which the public could be excluded. Nicholas (plaintiff) owned property that surrounded a creek on both sides. The navigability of the creek was disputed. A lake was located at one end of the creek. It did not have public access. The average depth of the creek was less than 10 inches. Nicholas constructed a footbridge across the creek, which obstructed passage on the stream by small craft. Nicholas filed suit, alleging trespass. Nicholas sought a declaratory judgment that the creek was a private and non-navigable waterway and requested a restraining order preventing others from passage on the stream. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) (defendant) filed a suit against Nicholas to have the creek declared navigable. The testimony indicated that small boats could traverse the creek. The trial court found the creek to be navigable because it was boatable.