Matthew Fink and Diane Wilke, Appellants v. Municipality of Anchorage, Appellee

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the superior court's judgment in favor of the Municipality in a dispute over whether adjoining subdivision lots extended from the top of a bluff to the pre-earthquake mean high-tide line. It held that the lot owners waived a jury trial on title by jointly proposing a bifurcated trial and failing to object when the title issue was tried to the court, and that the evidence supported the finding that the original owner retained the disputed land. The court also held that the Earthslide Relief Act did not apply because the lot boundaries had not moved, even though surface material shifted during the earthquake.