Sheehy v. Thomas

• Citation: 142 A. 506,155 Md. 688
• Decision Date: 20 June 1928
• Docket Number: 34.
• Parties: SHEEHY v. THOMAS.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Maryland

142 A. 506

155 Md. 688

SHEEHY v. THOMAS.

No. 34.

Court of Appeals of Maryland

June 20, 1928

Appeal from Circuit Court, Dorchester County, in Equity; John R Pattison and Joseph L. Bailey, Judges.

Suit by John Y. Sheehy against William R. Thomas. From a decree dismissing the bill of complaint, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

Argued before BOND, C.J., and URNER, ADKINS, OFFUTT, DIGGES, PARKE and SLOAN, JJ.

Le Roy L. Wallace, of Cambridge, for appellant.

V Calvin Trice, of Cambridge, for appellee.

URNER J.

The purpose of this injunction suit is to prevent the defendant from maintaining a blind, from which to shoot water fowl, at a point in Todd's Bay, in Dorchester county, alleged to be in unlawful proximity to the water area within which the plaintiff claims priority of such gunning privileges by virtue of certain statutory provisions and of his interests as a riparian owner. The appeal is from a decree refusing the proposed injunction and dismissing the bill of complaint.

Chapter 568 of the Acts of 1927, provides, in part, as follows:

"All owners of riparian rights, their lessees or licensees on the waters of this state shall, by virtue of said ownership, be first entitled to make a choice of the 'set' or position in front of the property of which they are the owners of the riparian rights, lessees or licensees, for the purpose to erect, set or maintain booby brush or stake blind or blinds, provided, that said riparian owners, their lessees or licensees shall avail themselves of said choice of localities and clearly mark the same on said waters by erecting a stake, on which shall appear the license number of each blind and the licensee's name, as hereinafter provided on or before October 10th of each and every year, and said blind or blinds licensed prior to October 10th must be erected on or before November 10th and said blind or blinds licensed after November 10th must be erected on or before twenty days thereafter, except as herein provided.

(a) For the protection of shoreowners, their lessees or licensees, desiring to locate a blind or blinds on their shore, the purchase of a license as herein provided and the establishment of a stake on which shall be painted the license number and the name of the licensee, such stake not to exceed the lawful distance from shore and be established in the water, when said stake shall be established on or before October 10th, then said stake shall be termed as a blind as hereinafter provided." Subsec. 39.

It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, set or maintain a booby, brush or stake blind within the waters of Todd's Bay in Dorchester county, out and beyond a line drawn two hundred yards northeast of Todd's Point, thence running south-southeast to a point at the mouth of Chapel creek known as Mitchell's Point." Subsection 41 (c).

Whenever an owner of land bordering on any waters of this state shall desire to erect a booby, brush or stake blind in front of his property, or other person to whom he shall give permission, he shall not place same within 250 yards of the dividing line of any property owned by him and the adjoining property bordering on said waters (the distance contained herein shall not apply to the waters that are tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac river in the counties of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's), meaning a line extending out over the waters drawn direct from the dividing line of said properties at the shore line, unless with the consent of the adjoining landowner, same being for the purpose of allowing each landowner bordering on any of the waters of the state permission to avail himself of the privilege of setting, erecting or maintaining a booby, brush or stake blind in front of his property." Subsection 45 (a).

The plaintiff and defendant are the owners of adjacent tracts of land bordering on Todd's Bay. The shore of the bay is indented with a number of coves or inlets on the margin of one of which, known as "Old House Cove," the division line between the lands of the plaintiff and defendant terminates. This point on the shore line of the cove is 457 feet distant from the open bay and is separated from it by a portion of ...