ISSUE 1079 JUDGE FINDS IN FAVOR OF LANDOWNER IN ORDINARY HIGH WATER MARK CASE Brevard County circuit Court Judge Bruce W. Jacobus found in favor of David Smith August 25 ruling that he is the owner of land surrounding Lake Poinsett that had been disputed by the State of Florida over conflicting definitions of "ordinary high water mark." The
case
began
in
1995
when
the
state
filed
an
action
saying
Smith
had
been
trespassing
on
the
land
since
his
family
took
ownership
of
the
property
in
1906.
Since
that
time,
the
Smiths
have
held
a
deed
on
the
property
that
was
issued
by
the
state,
and
have
continued
to
pay
taxes
on
it. The state alleged that the ordinary high water mark was the highest point to which the water would rise in times of flooding. Judge Jacobus determined it was, as Smith believed, "the line which the river impresses upon the soil by covering it for sufficient periods to deprive it of vegetation and to destroy its value for agriculture."
ALSO IN THIS WEEK'S RAP-UP (Members-Only articles are indicated in bold.) JUDGE FINDS IN FAVOR OF LANDOWNER IN ORDINARY HIGH WATER MARK CASE
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