NFIB

CONTACT: Melissa Sharp, (202) 554-9000 

WASHINGTON, D.C — The National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation expressed its disappointment with the Michigan Supreme Court ruling in Glass v. Goeckel, where the state supreme court decided to reverse the appeals court decision and ruled that shoreline-property owners do not have the right to prohibit trespassing on private shore above the water’s edge. 

“The court’s decision to reverse over 160 years of court rulings is very distressing. Small-business owners that have staked their livelihood on Michigan’s beachfront property now have a legitimate reason to be concerned about the future of their property. For many small businesses that only net $40,000-$60,000 a year, their business property is often their biggest asset. Now that the state court has ruled against property owners, the viability of these small-businesses are in jeopardy,” said NFIB’s Legal Foundation senior attorney Elizabeth Gaudio.

NFIB’s Legal Foundation filled an amicus brief with Michigan’s Supreme Court earlier this year supporting the appeals court’s ruling in favor of private-property owners. The brief explains that shoreline owners, and not the state, own Michigan’s dry beaches above the water’s edge.

“This is a devastating loss for property owners and contributes to an escalating property-rights crisis in this country. Unfortunately for all citizens of Michigan, the state supreme court did not grasp the importance of maintaining the longstanding status quo that limited public trespass to the “water’s edge”. The expansion of public access to the “ordinary high water mark” replaces a clear and well-understood rule that preserved the rights of Michigan’s property owners,” Gaudio said.