Richard Sanders v. Placid Oil Company

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal, we consider whether Cata-houla Lake, located in Louisiana, is a navigable water of the United States for purposes of federal admiralty jurisdiction. Because we find that Catahoula Lake is navigable as a matter of law, and that the district court did not err in limiting admissibility of evidence or granting summary judgment, we affirm.

I

On a gray January 1, 1983, Richard Sanders and Michael Wilder were cruising in a fifteen-foot outboard-motorboat, happily hunting ducks on Catahoula Lake in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. They were contentedly boating on…