Darling's Trustees v. Caledonian Railway Co. [1903] ScotLR 40_785 (23 June 1903)

Darling's Trustees v. Caledonian Railway Co. [1903] ScotLR 40_785 (23 June 1903)

The true and legal boundary between the foreshore portions of the respective properties is to be determined by drawing perpendiculars or radii from the extremities of the land boundaries at high-water mark to the actual medium filum of the estuary, following its curve, as shown by the red line marked C D on Mr Bartholomew's plan. This method is the only practical and just solution in the context of a river with a convex bend, and is supported by both expert evidence and legal precedent.

Citation
[1903] ScotLR 40_785
Parties
Pursuers and Reclaimers: Alexander Nimmo of Westbank, Falkirk, and others, Trustees under the antenuptial contract between Mr and Mrs Darling, proprietors of the lands of Candie; Defenders and Respondents: Caledonian Railway Company
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
23 June 1903
Procedural Posture
Civil Property/declarator / Appeal (reclaiming Motion) From Lord Ordinary to Inner House, First Division
Outcome
Declarator granted in terms of the first conclusion; boundary fixed as per plan; other matters continued.
Legal Topics
Foreshore Ownership, Estuary Boundaries, Riparian Rights, Method of Boundary Determination, Declarator, Compensation for Land Acquisition
Property Law Land Law Boundary Law Foreshore Ownership Estuary Boundaries Riparian Rights Method of Boundary Determination Declarator +1 more

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Parties

Alexander Nimmo of Westbank, Falkirk, and others, Trustees under the antenuptial contract between Mr and Mrs Darling, proprietors of the lands of Candie

Pursuers and Reclaimers

Caledonian Railway Company

Defenders and Respondents

Procedural Posture

Civil Property/declarator / Appeal (reclaiming Motion) From Lord Ordinary to Inner House, First Division

Legal Issues

  1. 1 How should the boundary of foreshore between conterminous proprietors on a river estuary with a convex bend be determined?
  2. 2 Are the pursuers entitled to declarator of ownership and interdict against the defenders' occupation of the foreshore?
  3. 3 Is compensation due for occupation under statutory powers without acquisition?

Ratio Decidendi

The true and legal boundary between the foreshore portions of the respective properties is to be determined by drawing perpendiculars or radii from the extremities of the land boundaries at high-water mark to the actual medium filum of the estuary, following its curve, as shown by the red line marked C D on Mr Bartholomew's plan. This method is the only practical and just solution in the context of a river with a convex bend, and is supported by both expert evidence and legal precedent.

Court Disposition

Declarator granted in terms of the first conclusion; boundary fixed as per plan; other matters continued.

Orders

  • Adhere to Lord Ordinary's interlocutor of 12th July 1902 in so far as it finds, decerns, and declares in terms of the first declaratory conclusion of the summons.
  • Find that the line marked C D in red letters on plan No. 61 of process is the true and legal boundary between the respective portions of foreshore.