Nester v. Diamond Match Co.
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• In Error, to' the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Michigan. • This is an action in tort to recover damages alleged to have been sustained by reason of an alleged unlawful obstruction maintained in the Ontonagon river, a navigable stream, wholly within the state of Michigan, which flows into Lake Superior.
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• In Error, to' the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Michigan. • This is an action in tort to recover damages alleged to have been sustained by reason of an alleged unlawful obstruction maintained in the Ontonagon river, a navigable stream, wholly within the state of Michigan, which flows into Lake Superior. The declaration contained several counts, and, in substance, alleges that in the years 1890 to 1897, both inclusive, the plaintiffs placed in said river large quantities of pine saw logs for the purpose of running through and upon the waters of said river,…
1Opinion of the CourtLtjrtqn, Circuit Judge
It is most manifest that the Ontonagon river is navigable only in a limited sense. It is a highway, nevertheless, in which every man who has occasion to use it has equal rights, though its only practical use is that which it affords for floating logs to market. The plaintiffs and the defendant, as well as other persons, were en.titled to put logs into the stream to be floated singly to their destination at the month of the river. Logs were thrown in indiscriminately, ownership being signified by a brand on each log. When put in the river, they became a part of a general mass, often filling…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Lindsay & Phelps Co. v. MullenSupreme Court of the United States · 1900
- Hall v. Tittabawassee Boom Co.Michigan Supreme Court · 1883
- Watts v. Tittabawassee Boom Co.Michigan Supreme Court · 1883
3Cited by1 opinion
- Riedinger v. Diamond Match Co.Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1903