Emergencies, Private Property, Docks and Rights

[HangOutdoors]

I was just outside talking with the neighbor and he asked me a question I don't have an answer for. I searched the internet and didn't find a cut and dry answer. Now it something that I think is good to know.

Q: If you are on the water and a storm comes up and you can't get off the water or you run into an emergency situation, can you access and dock your boat on someone's private dock or beach it on their property. Is that trespassing or is it legal if you are in an emergency situation?

 

[mark_m]

Provocative question. My opinion is that in a situation folks will act in a rational way and give the benefit of the doubt, especially in a situation of dire need.

 

[Acard7]

That’s one of those where I’d beg for forgiveness than ask permission moments if I ever run into it. I will definitely like to see what you find out though!

 

[2kwik4u]

Trespassing. Not your land not your right to use it. Regardless of circumstances.

Most sane people will have zero cares in an emergency situation.

I suspect there is something along the lines of the "good samaritan" rule for these occasions.

I would ask the legal advice sub reddit. Lots of knowledgeable folks over there.

 

[HangOutdoors]

He was asking me if I go out in Lake St. Clair and what happens if a nasty storm catches us of guard if we are way out. The lake turns bad quick cause it is shallow. I told him I would run to one of the launches. The question was posed what do I do if I can't out run it and I cannot get to a launch, can I just take shelter on someone else's dock.

Of course the last thing I want to do is have a confrontation with someone who is not so understanding.

Has anyone ever been in this type of situation?

 

[2kwik4u]

Has anyone ever been in this type of situation?

I've taken shelter in marina in an unoccupied covered slip a few times. Rode out the heavy rain, then left. Stayed in the boat and off the dock. It was clearly someone else's slip, and I'm guessing they were out in it. I stayed fully prepared to get soaked if they returned. They never showed, we left when the rain slowed.

I've also beached in a few storms and run under trees/foilage. Never seen another person when that happened so it was no big deal.

 

[Chatt_Jetsetter]

Interesting question. From findlaw.com:

Although not a complete defense, private necessity lets you trespass if it's to protect yourself from death or serious bodily injury in an emergency -- for example, if you're being chased by a dangerous animal and are seeking shelter in someone else's toolshed.

Under the private necessity defense, you are entitled to stay on the land for as long as the emergency continues, even if the owner wants to eject you. However, just like public necessity, you lose the defense's protection as soon as your trespass becomes unreasonable.

Unlike public necessity, private necessity is not an absolute defense to liability for trespass. You may still be civilly liable for any damages that result from your trespass -- for example, if you drove onto someone else's property to avoid an imminent crash and caused $500 in damage to the property owner's fence, you'll probably have to pay for it. But you won't be liable for any nominal or punitive damages.

 

[octavio3311]

Here on my lake - if you find yourself in a situation of grave danger - you seek shelter wherever possible. Beach it, dock it, park it - that’s that. I ended up doing that about 5 years ago trying to escape a NASTY NASTY storm.
I guess it all depends on where/who’s property you land on.
But I must add - anyone who refuses you shelter #1 is a scumbag and #2 can’t according to our lake laws. Other states may differ.
After that day - out of curiosity, I asked a marine sheriff boat - he said you seek shelter wherever possible - it is not considered trespassing.

 

[Noko]

I thought part of USCG rules was to help any boater in distress. Im on a small lake but if you need to dock at my dock because a thunderstorm is coming up, I'm all for it. You damage my dock, then you should pay.

 

[Bizywk]

Always respect people's property rights. Ditto @octavio3311, @Chatt_Jetsetter, @2kwik4u

That said, you have to do what is needed when in an emergency, and reasonable people won't have an issue with you if you must take emergency storm refuge provided you didn't do damage for whatever reason. If it came down to law enforcement, the owner should have posted no trespassing signs, and even in the worst case, law enforcement would arrive and ask you to leave before any real enforcement which wouldn't likely happen mid-storm.

Unless the property owner was an unreasonable Karen, they would likely only be concerned if you were a nuisance, took up the space they needed themselves, invaded their privacy, deprived their business of a profit opportunity, or out of concern of being sued for a trumped up and unfounded liability complaint after failing to post no trespassing signs.

Laws For Posting No Trespassing Signs - Encyclopedia.com

Do you have private land that continues to have strangers walking, driving or even camping on it? Would you like to regain privacy? How can I ensure that

www.encyclopedia.com

 

[DogDadDave]

I wonder if the law changes when someone chooses to ignore a small craft advisory or similar caution?

 

[haknslash]

People do it at the time on the lake we use. Storms pop up often and very quickly and they can be real strong. You’d have to be a cold hearted individual to not allow your dock to be used for safe harbor during a storm. Not sure if it’s legal or what but I’ve never seen a dispute over it. If anything most welcome someone into their home or back porch to share some food, drinks and southern hospitality while they wait it out with the newly introduced storm guests.

 

[Cambo]

Then there is the question of where the property line ends for tidal ares that is supposedly the high tide line.

 

[BigAbe75]

I don’t know if it’s a Corp of Engineers rule or a Table Rock Lake rule or what, but any open slip private or at a marina is available for use in a storm.

I guess I haven’t seen that in writing (never actually looked for it either), but enough people have told me that over the years that I’m inclined to take it as official.

 

[BigAbe75]

I don’t know if it’s a Corp of Engineers rule or a Table Rock Lake rule or what, but any open slip private or at a marina is available for use in a storm.

I guess I haven’t seen that in writing (never actually looked for it either), but enough people have told me that over the years that I’m inclined to take it as official.

Regarding Table Rock Lake, one popular resort has this on their boating guide page. Last bullet.

Boat Safety & Table Rock Lake Information | Big Cedar Lodge

Life jackets are the lifeblood of safe boating. Read the rules and regulations for optimum boat safety at Big Cedar Lodge and Table Rock Lake.

bigcedar.com

The resort has a high profile owner (Johnny Morris), I doubt they would post info that hasn’t been approved by legal.

 

[2kwik4u]

@BigAbe75 You bring up an interesting point about Corps of Engineers Land. We have a few lakes here in KY that are run by the Corps, and have allowed buildings on the land adjacent to the shoreline. We have whats called the "red line", and you can build "below" that line, but the Corps will NOT be responsible for any damage, and it's titled/deeded such that any damage below that line (usually caused by lake pool increase/decrease) is on the property owner explicitly. I'm unsure how this works with a private entity damaging the dock/shed/etc, however I would think that's a reasonable defense if you were.

Here's an interesting PDF about what you can and can't do on Nolin.... https://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/Portals/64/docs/Ops/Recreation/ShorelineMgt/Nolin_GuideforAdjacentLandowners.pdf

 

[Otnelico]

I was just outside talking with the neighbor and he asked me a question I don't have an answer for. I searched the internet and didn't find a cut and dry answer. Now it something that I think is good to know.

Q: If you are on the water and a storm comes up and you can't get off the water or you run into an emergency situation, can you access and dock your boat on someone's private dock or beach it on their property. Is that trespassing or is it legal if you are in an emergency situation?

I have a 400’ dock on the St Johns River in the Jacksonville area. My understanding is while I own the structure I have no more right to the surrounding area that water occupies than anyone else. People fish around the dock regularly. So beaching would seem clearly not trespassing (at least in my location) unless they set foot off the boat onto my dry/high tied line property. As for the structure it is my assumption that the municipality would consider the exigency of avoiding a severe storm or other significant safety concern when considering securing a boat to a private dock and or accessing it. Would this really be any different than being caught in a remote area in a blizzard, flood, fire, volcanic eruption, etc… and entering a private structure to save your life? I know no one here is arguing the ethics of property rights over life safety and my answer really is not anymore definitive. Just my two cents.

I had a person with a severe transom leak about two years ago. He was sinking fast and i directed him to beach it at my bank. I would hope anyone with a dock (and likely a boater) would help a fellow boater in a jam.

 

[David.Parrish]

This is a great post. Being a new boater, we got stuck in our first storm this past weekend. We definitely weren't going to outrun it. We ended up dropping anchor and riding it out in heavy downpours, lightning all around us, 30+ mph winds that quickly changed directions. Definitely not fun. There were some homes with private docks, but we weren't clear on the rules, so we stuck it out in the boat - not fun to say the least.

 

[Andisimose]

There was a large thread about it on our lakes facebook page pretty recently. Everyone agreed that they would be nice enough and not care if you were there for an emergency. Someone else posted this, i haven't dug into it, but sounded legit enough to share:

"Thankfully the defense of private necessity give you the right to use or take another’s property as a defense against trespass. A court will grant this privilege to a trespasser when the risk of harm to an individual or society is apparently and reasonably greater than the harm to the property. You are still liable for damages incurred...So you could use this defense against trespassing but if your boat in the storm tore up there doc you would be liable to pay for it. See Vincent v. Lake Erie Transp. Co., 109 Minn. 456, 124 N.W. 221 (1910)."

 

[212s]

Q: If you are on the water and a storm comes up and you can't get off the water or you run into an emergency situation, can you access and dock your boat on someone's private dock or beach it on their property. Is that trespassing or is it legal if you are in an emergency situation?

Basically yes. I believe both USA and Can have roughly the same legal exemptions.

It's loosely referred to as the "safe habour" rule from the coast guard. If there's a reasonable threat of dangerous weather or sinking/drowning, you would be exempt from trespass to protect life and property.

In reality, I doubt any boat owner would complain if you asked to tie up to their dock during a sudden storm.

The corollary is if some dummy is blocking a boat ramp claiming the safe harbour rule while the weather is fine and he's not sinking, then he would not be exempt. Had that happen once and the marine unit took care of his "issues" for us.