INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s highest court is weighing whether landowners along the state’s slice of Lake Michigan must allow the public access to the beach.
The Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in the case involving a Long Beach, Indiana, couple.
Don and Bobbie Gunderson’s attorney argued that the lake’s 45-mile Indiana beachfront extends to the water’s edge and landowners have the right to limit who uses the beaches abutting their properties.
The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports the state’s attorney argued that Indiana owns the land between the ordinary high water mark and the water, effectively the beach itself, and maintains it as a public trust for all Hoosiers to enjoy.
Four of the five justices heard Thursday’s arguments. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter is not participating because he has relatives who own lakefront property.
