New York's highest court has declined to rule on whether paddlers have a right to navigate a narrow stream on private land adjacent to a state-owned Adirondack wilderness area popular with canoeists.
The seven-judge Court of Appeals said Tuesday they cannot make a summary judgment ruling because of conflicting evidence in the case.
The case involves a trespassing lawsuit filed by landowners against journalist and Adirondack guidebook author Phil Brown. He paddled the 2-mile route through their land to challenge their assertion it was off-limits to the public.
Lawyers for the landowners didn't immediately comment on whether they would pursue the case in a lower court. Brown's lawyer says they haven't decided on their next move.
Brown argued the public has a common-law right to paddle through the waterway.
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