St. Anna's Asylum v. City of New Orleans

Citations

• 104 La. 392

Syllabus

<p>Syllabus.</p> <p>1. The City of New Orleans has the legal right, when in possession for public uses of a portion of a batture directly upon the river, in front of which the river was forming a shoaling bed, to fill up this shoaling space up to deep water with earth, to protect the same outwardly by a bulkhead, to advance the landing line to the bulkhead and use the space in the rear of the bulkhead as a quay or place of deposit for unloaded cargoes. This advancing of the landing line does not carry with it necessarily a right on the part of the owner of the batture just in the rear of this new work, to take absolute possession of the same as full owner.</p> <p>2. Where the city holding for public use batture property upon the Missis- . sippi river which has in front a shoaling bank, determines for the convenience of commerce to advance the landing line to reach deep water, it has the legal right to enter into an agreement with private individuals to do the work necessary for this purpose, and to receive as an equivalent for such work a right of reasonable temporary use of such extension, and the batture just behind. The naked owner of the batture cannot disregard the agreement and dispossess the parties holding possession under it, on tlie ground that such occupancy of the ground is a private occupancy.</p> <p>3. If the agreement should be illegally or improperly exclusive of public rights of others, the courts would be open for their redress.</p>