Ferris v. Wellborn

Mississippi Supreme Court October 15, 1886

Ferris v. Wellborn, 64 Miss. 29 (Miss. 1886)

Campbell

Opinion of the Court

Campbell, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The case made by the bill is sufficient to maintain the jurisdiction of the chancery court, and the demurrer was properly overruled.

*34The proof is that Prairie Creek is a natural channel, one-half or three-fourths of a mile long, with defined bed and banks, of varying width and depth, through which water is conveyed and discharged into the low land adjacent to Plum Creek. It is undoubtedly a water-course whenever there is water to run in it, and the fact that it is most of the time dry or not running is not enough to deprive it of the character of a water-course, with its incidents, among which is the right of the riparian owner to have it remain as nature made it as a drain for the adjacent land.

Affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name: W. S. Ferris v. M. J. Wellborn
Cited By: 14 cases
Status: Published
Syllabus: 1. Water-Course. Obstruction of. Rights of riparian owner. A riparian owner has the right to have a natural water-course which drains his lands adjacent thereto remain1 unobstructed and as nature made it, in its1 course onward through the lands of another. 2. Same. What constitutes. And a creek which has a channel one-half a mile long, with definite bed and banks of varying width and depth, through which water is conveyed and discharged into lowlands adjacent to a running stream, though it be dry most of the time, but running when there is water to be carried off by it, is a watercourse, with all of the incidents thereof. 3. Same. Obstruction of. Chancery jurisdiction. And if one riparian owner obstructs such a water-course so as to flood and injure another’s lands drained by it, a court of chancery has jurisdiction to order the obstruction removed, to grant damages for the injury sustained, and to issue a perpetual injunction against future obstruction.