State ex rel. Haman v. Fox
Idaho Supreme Court
594 P.2d 1093 (1979)
The public used a sandy beach portion of the Foxes' (defendants) lakefront property since at least 1912, while the Foxes and predecessors maintained an erosion-preventing seawall since around 1920; when the Foxes rebuilt the wall in 1971 to enclose the beach and end public access, Idaho (plaintiff) sued to enjoin the enclosure, asserting a public prescriptive easement or alternative theories of dedication, customary usage, and public trust, and the trial court ruled for the Foxes, finding the public's historically permitted (non-adverse) use defeated any prescriptive claim.
Whether the general public, as opposed to specific individuals, may acquire a prescriptive easement over private property absent an applicable statute.