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On July 26, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania rendered its decision in the case of Lehigh Falls Fishing Club v. Andrejewski. The Court affirmed a decision of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas and held that the Lehigh River is a navigable water of the Commonwealth open to public fishing and boating.
The Lehigh Falls Fishing Club leases lands through which the Lehigh River flows and maintains it as a private fishing club. In 1995, John Andrejewski waded into portion of the river that flows through Club premises and began fishing. The Club told Andrejewski that he was not permitted to fish there, but he asserted that the Lehigh River is a public water of the Commonwealth and that he is allowed to fish there as long as he doesn^t trespass on upland properties. After a hearing in the Court of Common Pleas, the county court determined that the Lehigh River is indeed a navigable water of the Commonwealth in which the public has fishing rights.
The Superior Court^s affirmance of the lower court decision is based in large part on analysis of precedents whereby earlier courts have described the Lehigh as one of the principal rivers of Pennsylvania and a navigable waterway in which the right of fisheries "is vested in the state, and open to all." It is unclear what, if any, impact this decision will have on determining the navigable status of other waters since the decision is specific to the Lehigh River.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, together with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen^s Clubs, filed amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs supporting the conclusion that the Lehigh River is a navigable waterway
Uploaded: 7/29/1999
Uploaded: 7/29/1999