Julie Schafler Dale owned a piece of property next to a body of water known as Lower Lake Nimham.
According to their deeds, adjoining landowners had the right to use the lake for swimming, bathing, ice skating, and other outdoor activities -- except power boating.
After her neighbors constructed a dock on the lake, Dale sued and alleged trespass. The defendants countered that they had a right to build the structure.
When the Putnam County Supreme Court denied the parties' requests for relief, they appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department.
Since Dale established the lake wasn't a navigable body of water, and her neighbors weren't "riparian owners," the AD2 thought the defendants' actions weren't legally permissible.
In other words, their claims didn't hold water.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please follow this link: Dale v. Chisholm