Robert B. Rhoads, Jr., and Jane Drake Rhoads, His Wife v. Virginia-Florida Corporation

GODBOLD, Circuit Judge:

This diversity suit charges negligence and nuisance in the construction and maintenance of a seawall by defendants, causing or contributing to erosion damages to plaintiffs’ residential beachfront properties located in Florida. In the original nonjury trial the court found that the seawall substantially contributed to the erosion of plaintiffs’ properties. The trial court proceeded on the premise of law that the defendants were not liable if they had built the wall on property owned by them, that is, landward (west) of the mean high water mark (MHWM), which is the…