City of Los Angeles v. Duncan

GRAY, J.,

pro tem.

In each of these consolidated cases the City of Los Angeles, as successor of the city of Venice, to which tide lands, within its then territorial limits, had been granted by Statutes 1917, page 89, sued to quiet its title to a portion of such tide lands, lying oceanward of the seaward boundaries of the properties of the respective respondents. Such tide lands are situated on the Pacific Ocean at Playa Del Rey about 26 miles northwesterly from the entrance of Los Angeles harbor and lie adjacent to and northwesterly of a narrow inlet through the beach of Santa Monica Bay into a lagoon. Respondents’ disclaimer of any title to tide lands narrowed the dispute to the location on the ground of the line of mean high tide, which, concededly, fixed the boundary between the city’s tide lands and respondents’ property. Omitting, as immaterial for present purposes, the northwesterly and southeasterly boundaries, which differed in each case, the court found and decreed that the city owned the tide lands “adjacent to and southwesterly of the southwesterly line

of

Block E, Portion of Playa Del Rey Townsite, as per map recorded in Book -7 of Maps, at page 130 thereof, records of Los Angeles County; said southwesterly line of said portion of Block E being fixed as a line distant 139 feet southwesterly from the northeasterly line of Marine Walk, as shown on said recorded Map”. In effect, the court established the boundary line, first by determinating it to be the southwesterly line of block E and secondly, locating such line by fixing

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its distance from the “Marine Walk”. Appellant not only does not quarrel with the establishment of such southwesterly line as the boundary, but argues strenuously therefor. But it does contend that its distance from the “Marine Walk”, which is not stated on the map, should have been established solely by scaling. By this method, such distance is approximately 36 feet, making a difference laterally from that found by the court of approximately 103 feet.

Among the several maps introduced by appellant was the one referred to in the finding and judgment and which had been prepared and recorded by respondents’ predecessors in title. This map, drawn to scale, depicts a subdivision with various streets, including “Marine Walk”, blocks and lots, having designated locations and dimensions. Water-ward of “Marine Walk” appears an area denominated as “Block E”, bounded on the southwest by an undescribed sinuous line, which appellant claims is the line of mean high tide. In support of this conclusion, appellant relies upon the position of this line and to its similarity of location with a line upon a previous map of this subdivison which is expressly called the line of mean high tide. In contradiction, respondents produced the maker of the map, who testified that he did not use the previous map, that he did not draw the line from measurements, but drew it, haphazardly, merely to indicate that there was land on one side and water on the other. Citing cases, of which