Home/North Dakota Supreme Court/Gardner v. Green

Gardner v. Green

271 N.W. 775, 67 N.D. 268, 1937 N.D. LEXIS 80
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 25, 1937
DocketFile No. 6354.
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 271 N.W. 775 (Gardner v. Green) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gardner v. Green, 271 N.W. 775, 67 N.D. 268, 1937 N.D. LEXIS 80 (N.D. 1937).

Opinion

Christianson, Ch. J.

This is an action to determine adverse claims to certain lands lying between tbe meander line, placed by the United States government survey in front of lots 5 and 7 in section 27, township 153 N., range 93 W., in McKenzie county, North Dakota, and the Missouri river which flows in front of and immediately adjacent to such lands. Lots 5 and 7 were surveyed by the United States government in 1896. The survey of the subdivisions and meanders were made in June and July, 1896, and the official map conformable to the field notes of the survey was approved and filed in the United States Surveyor General’s office in January, 1897. The United States issued patent for lot 5 on June 1, 1911 and for lot 7 *270 on October 12, 1920. The plaintiff is the owner of lot '5 and the deíendánt, Green, is the' owner of lot 7.

. There is no dispute as to the rule that should be applied in dividing accretions between the owners of the two tracts; but there is a dispute as to the base or starting point from which a line should be drawn dividing such accretions.

The questions raised on this appeal are: (1) Should the meander line shown on the map of the United States Survey be taken as the boundary line of lots 5 and 7, and should the point where the subdivision line running east and west between lots 5 and 7 intersects such meander line be taken as the starting point for the purpose of dividing accretions between the owners of the two tracts? (2) If not, was the meander line in fact also the actual shore line in front of the lots in question at the time of the government survey?

The case was tried to the court without a jury and resulted in a judgment in favor of the plaintiff. The defendant- Green has appealed, demanding a trial anew in this court.

Upon the trial copies of the field notes and'of the official map of the United States survey were offered and received in evidence. There was also adduced testimony of witnesses as regards the condition of the land where the meander line was run and the existence and the condition of land between the meander line and the shore of the river. Such evidence related to the character of the land, growth of trees, etc. Some of the witnesses had been familiar with and had observed the condition of the land over a long period of years.

The following map is a reproduction of the original plat of the government survey in 1896:

*271

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Norby v. Estate of Kuykendall
2015 ND 232 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2015)
Nord v. Herrman
2001 ND 11 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2001)
Doyle v. Sprynczynatyk
2001 ND 8 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2001)
North Shore, Inc. v. Wakefield
530 N.W.2d 297 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1995)
State Ex Rel. Sprynczynatyk v. Mills
523 N.W.2d 537 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1994)
Kim-Go v. J.P. Furlong Enterprises, Inc.
484 N.W.2d 118 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1992)
101 Ranch v. United States
714 F. Supp. 1005 (D. North Dakota, 1988)
Matter of Ownership of Bed of Devils Lake
423 N.W.2d 141 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1988)
Perry v. Erling
132 N.W.2d 889 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1965)
Jennings v. Shipp
115 N.W.2d 12 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1962)
Hogue v. Bourgois
71 N.W.2d 47 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1955)
State v. Loy
20 N.W.2d 668 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1945)
State v. Aucoin
20 So. 2d 136 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1944)
Oberly v. Carpenter
274 N.W. 509 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1937)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
271 N.W. 775, 67 N.D. 268, 1937 N.D. LEXIS 80, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gardner-v-green-nd-1937.