Guinn v. Roelofs
Guinn v. Roelofs
Opinion of the Court
Respondents, claiming certain fishing locations in the Snohomish river, brought this action against appellant to restrain him from fishing within these locations, and to recover damages for the trespass. Upon the hearing, a decree was entered in respondents’ favor, establishing their locations, restraining appellant from fishing therein, and fixing the damages at the sum of $50, from which decree appeal is taken.
Appellant first attacks testimony given by respondents, showing or tending to show the number of fish taken from these locations by appellant, contending that the only way respondents could prove damage would be by the value of the use of the fishing grounds for fishing purposes; and as there was no evidence of this, there was no testimony upon which to base the award of damages. The case was tried to the court without a jury. Under these circumstances we are not disposed to search the record to ascertain whether or not the court used the proper measure of damage. Whatever was the proper measure of damage, and whether the court followed it or not, there was ample testimony correctly received to warrant a finding that respondents had been damaged to the extent found.
Respondents’ location maps are next attacked as being insufficient to give them any fishing rights at the location in question. Section 5214, Rem. & Bal. Code, contains the requirements for these location maps. It is provided that they “contain a plat and description of said fishing location sufficient for its ascertainment and identification on the premises.” Other provisions need not be referred to. The fault
The last assignment is insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings. We think it is ample.
The judgment is affirmed.
Mount, C. J., Main, Ellis, and Fullerton, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- R. W. Guinn v. R. Roelofs
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Appeal — Review—Harmless Eeeor. In an action tried to the court, it is not material whether the court used the proper measure of damages, where there was ample evidence to warrant the court’s finding of damages. Fish — Fishery Rights — Locations—Description. A map for a fishing location sufficiently describes the location, within Rem. & Bal. Code, § 5214, where it fixes the upstream limit so that a person would have no trouble in locating it; and it is not necessary to describe the downstream limit, which the law fixes 300 feet distant.