Olmstead v. Camp
Supreme Court of Connecticut
Petition under the act of 1864, known as the flowage act, for the right to flood by a mill pond certain land of the respondent ; brought to the superior court for Fairfield county.
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Petition under the act of 1864, known as the flowage act, for the right to flood by a mill pond certain land of the respondent ; brought to the superior court for Fairfield county. The petition alleged that the petitioner was the owner of a tract of land, situated in Norwalk, in quantity about twenty-three acres, bounded northerly by the land of the respondent; that upon a portion of the land was a water mill already erected, which was used for the purpose of grinding flour and feed and doing custom work such as is usually done in a country mill, and that water power only was used in the…
1Opinion of the CourtMcCurdy, J.
The questions presented in this case are deserving of the most serious consideration, on the one side involving rights of property guaranteed by the fundamental law, and on the other affecting, as long as water' runs, the interests of business and the prosperity of the state.
The constitution declares that “ the property of no person shall be taken for public use without just compensation.” This is indeed a principle of natural law. The decision of the case turns upon the meaning and effect of this provision. *546The defendant insists that, in-fefor of private rights, the construction should be…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Fletcher v. PeckSupreme Court of the United States · 1810
- Beekman v. Saratoga & Schenectady Rail RoadNew York Court of Chancery · 1831
3Cited by48 opinions
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- Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway Co. v. Montana Union Railway Co.Montana Supreme Court · 1895
- Gohld Realty Co. v. City of HartfordSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1954
- State Ex Rel. Edwards v. MillarSupreme Court of Oklahoma · 1908
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