United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc.

United States Supreme Court

474 U.S. 121 (1985)

Relevant factsFree

Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc. (Riverside) (defendant) wanted to fill wetlands adjacent to Lake St. Clair, Michigan, with sand and soil to build housing. The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (plaintiff) sued to enjoin Riverside from filling the wetlands without a permit under § 404(a) of the Clean Water Act (CWA); the district court sided with the Corps, but the court of appeals reversed, construing the CWA and its regulations as excluding adjacent wetlands from the permit requirement.

IssueFree

Whether a wetland adjacent to a lake is "navigable water" under the Clean Water Act, giving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit jurisdiction.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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