188 A. 275 | Conn. | 1936
This action was brought by the State of Connecticut in its sovereign capacity, claiming to hold title to a sandy beach lying between high and low-water mark along the southern boundary of the State of Connecticut, upon the waters of Long Island Sound in the town of Madison, and claiming that the defendant, the owner of the adjacent upland, was removing sand from the beach for the purposes of sale without the authority of the plaintiff. The defendant demurred to the complaint, the substance of the demurrer being that it had the right as riparian proprietor to remove the sand, that such removal did not *265 interfere with navigation in the adjacent waters, and that the only right in the State superior to the rights of the defendant as riparian owner was the right of navigation. The precise question raised is whether the defendant, as upland owner, had the right to remove sand from the beach between high and low-water mark to be used for trade purposes and not for purposes ordinarily incidental to the enjoyment of the shore. The demurrer was overruled and the defendant has appealed.
It is settled law in this State that the public, whose representative is the State, is the owner of the soil between high and low-water mark upon navigable water where the tide ebbs and flows. East Haven v. Hemingway,
The fundamental riparian right on which all others depend is the right of access. Orange v. Resnick,
There is no error.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.