Burwell v. Hobson
Supreme Court of Virginia
This was a bill in the Circuit court of Powhatan county by Blair Burwell to enjoin Willis W. Hobson from building a dike upon his land along the margin of Deep creek, in tljat county. The pleadings and proofs make the case as follows: Joseph Hobson, under whom both parties claim, owned a large tract of land in the county of Powhatan, lying on both sides of Deep Creek.
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This was a bill in the Circuit court of Powhatan county by Blair Burwell to enjoin Willis W. Hobson from building a dike upon his land along the margin of Deep creek, in tljat county. The pleadings and proofs make the case as follows: Joseph Hobson, under whom both parties claim, owned a large tract of land in the county of Powhatan, lying on both sides of Deep Creek. Some years before his death he cleared up the low grounds on the south side of the creek, and to protect them from the floods of the creek, he built a dike along ' the south bank of the creek, about four feet high, and extending…
1Opinion of the CourtMoncure, J.
The maxim sic utere tuo ut alienum non líedas emphatically applies to the case of a riparian proprietor, and is the true legal as well as moral measure of his rights. He has no right to divert the stream, or anjr part of it, from its accustomed course, to the injury of other persons. This is a plain proposition, laid down by all the writers on the subject of water rights, and was not denied by the counsel for the appellee.
But he contended that it is confined in its application to the ordinary course of the stream, and that a riparian proprietor may lawfully protect his property from floods,…
2Cited by14 opinions
- Sanderlin v. BaxterSupreme Court of Virginia · 1882
- Ellis v. BassettIndiana Supreme Court · 1891
- Goodall v. GodfreySupreme Court of Vermont · 1880
- Switzer v. McCullochSupreme Court of Virginia · 1882
- Lucas v. RhodesIndiana Court of Appeals · 1911
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