The State of Mississippi and the Secretary of State of the State of Mississippi, the Honorable Michael Watson v…

Summary

The Court affirmed the chancery court's judgment vesting title to the disputed coastal property in Aldrich and adjusting the tideland boundary to the mean high water line nearest July 1, 1973. It held that the governmental intervenors qualified to intervene, that the State waived its challenge to the effect of the prior dismissal, that the 1784 Spanish land grant validly vested title in Aldrich, and that the State failed to prove the property was public trust tidelands. The Court declined to apply equitable estoppel because its prior holdings independently resolved the title and boundary issues.