McGowan v. Columbia River Packers' Assn.

Background

The Columbia River Packers’ Association, a lessee from the United States of fishing sites and riparian rights on Sand Island, sued neighbors who placed set nets and heavy anchors on the river bottom in front of the company’s premises. The nets were anchored by large stones, cables, and timber buoys and lay between the line of extreme low tide and the river channel. The case began in the Western District of Washington, but this Court later decided that Sand Island belonged to Oregon, not Washington, which prompted the company to ask the court to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

Reasoning

The central question was whether the State’s concurrent authority (if any) reached the bed of the stream so that state officers or the court could order removal of the anchored nets. The Court agreed with the Circuit Court of Appeals that any such state authority did not extend to the riverbed and that officers could not lawfully intermeddle with the defendants’ bottom-anchored nets. Because the removal of those nets was an important part of the relief the company sought and that relief could not be obtained, the company properly asked to dismiss the bill. The Court therefore affirmed the appellate court’s judgment and ordered the bill dismissed without prejudice, as the company had requested.

Real world impact

The decision means the lessee cannot compel removal of bottom-anchored nets through that court when the court lacks authority over the riverbed. State officers likewise lack authority to remove such anchored appliances under the circumstances described. Because the dismissal is without prejudice, the company may pursue other remedies in the proper forum or jurisdiction.