226 So. 2d 357 | Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | 1969
Originally, the land described in appel-lee’s deeds was bounded on the west by Little Sarasota Pass, which was obliterated by avulsion during the hurricane of 1926. For this reason, this court held in Siesta Properties, Inc. v. Hart, Fla.App.1960, 122 So.2d 218, that Siesta Properties, Inc., the
The trial judge heard much testimony and considered many exhibits and concluded, on evidence we find adequate, that the State is just as conclusively estopped from claiming title against these appellees as it was in Trustees of Internal Improvement Fund v. Bass, Fla.1953, 67 So.2d 433; Trustees of Internal Improvement Fund v. Claughton, Fla.1956, 86 So.2d 775; Daniell v. Sherrill, Fla.1950, 48 So.2d 736, 23 A.L.R.2d 1410, and Trustees of Internal Improvement Fund v. Lobean, Fla.1961, 127 So.2d 98. The State, in cooperation with the officers of its constituent counties, should develop, if it has not already done so, an efficient procedure for keeping track of its property. Our courts have held for many years that the State’s treatment of public property as property of private citizens may result in the loss of it. Of course, it was not until 1960 that this court declared that avulsion precluded attainment of title by the private owners of adjoining property by accretion, but the finding of estoppel here is nevertheless amply supported.
Affirmed.