Prior v. Swartz
Connecticut Supreme Court
25 A. 398 (1892)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Prior (plaintiff) received permission from the Town of Stamford, Connecticut, to plant and cultivate oysters below the low-water mark in Stamford Harbor. Swartz (defendant), who owned upland property immediately adjacent to Stamford Harbor, built a wharf connecting his land to the navigable waters of the harbor. Swartz’s wharf started above the high-water mark and extended beyond the low-water mark. The harbor water at the low-water mark was not deep enough to be navigable. Swartz’s wharf was used for commercial purposes. Prior sued Swartz, arguing that (1) Swartz’s riparian right to wharf-out, meaning to build a wharf from upland property into adjacent public-trust waterways, only extended to the low-water mark and not beyond it; and (2) Swartz’s overly long wharf impinged on Prior’s right to plant and cultivate oysters below the low-water mark. The lower court ruled in favor of Swartz. Prior appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Seymour, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 834,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
