Ploof v. Putnam · Vermont Supreme Court · 1908

Could the dock owner turn them away?

Short answer: No: necessity allowed them to dock.

The facts. A sudden storm hit a family sailing on Lake Champlain, so they tied up at a private dock on an island. A worker for the owner untied them. The boat was wrecked and they were hurt, though tying up had been trespassing.

The ruling. Ploof v. Putnam (1908): The court held necessity justified using the dock in an emergency, so the owner was liable for casting them off.

The Ploofs were a poor family earning a living hauling goods on the lake. This is the famous companion to a later case about a steamship and a dock in a storm.

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For fun, not legal advice.