Gillis v. Chase
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Case, for diverting water and diminishing the flow upon the plaintiff’s land. Facts found by the court. The plaintiff and one J. S. Winn are riparian owners, Winn’s land being above the plaintiff’s. About fifteen years ago Winn built a dam to hold back the water, thus forming a reservoir from which by an aqueduct he supplied water to his farm buildings.
Read the full summary
Case, for diverting water and diminishing the flow upon the plaintiff’s land. Facts found by the court. The plaintiff and one J. S. Winn are riparian owners, Winn’s land being above the plaintiff’s. About fifteen years ago Winn built a dam to hold back the water, thus forming a reservoir from which by an aqueduct he supplied water to his farm buildings. He also permitted the defendants, who are not riparian owners, to connect aqueducts with the reservoir and thereby supply their buildings with water, conveying to them by deed a right to such use. The defendants all claim the right to take the…
1Opinion of the CourtBlodgett, J.
The case finds that “ the defendants all claim the right to take the water from the reservoir under J. S. Winn, the owner of the land where the reservoir is located, and the owner of a part of the meadow from which the water is collected.”
In virtue of this ownership, Winn’s right to divert the water for use to a reasonable extent was incident to the land; and, as the plaintiff has failed to show any actual damage, it is only for an unreasonable and unauthorized diversion that the law will imply damage to him, because each riparian proprietor having the right to a just and reasonable use of…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Rindge v. SargentSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1886
- Jones v. Proprietors of the Portsmouth AqueductSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1883
3Cited by5 opinions
- Jones v. ConnOregon Supreme Court · 1901
- Lawrie v. SilsbySupreme Court of Vermont · 1904
- Wallace v. City of WinfieldSupreme Court of Kansas · 1916
- Town of Gordonsville v. ZinnSupreme Court of Virginia · 1921
- Stanton v. Trustees of St. Joseph's CollegeSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1969