# State of Texas v. Balli

> Texas Supreme Court · December 20, 1944 · 144 Tex. 195

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/3943924

## Case

- **Full name:** The State of Texas Et Al v. Alberto Balli Et Al.
- **Court:** Texas Supreme Court
- **Decided:** December 20, 1944
- **Citations:** 144 Tex. 195; 190 S.W.2d 71; 1944 Tex. LEXIS 140
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent
- **Judges:** Alexander, Simpson, Slatton
- **Cited by:** 68 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/3943924

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- recognizing the “ancient maxim that seashore is common property and never passes to private hands”
- concluding that accretion by the sea was governed by same rules as accretion by rivers

## Opinion text

I am in agreement with Associate Justice Sharp's views, expressed in his dissent, to the effect that the footsteps of the original surveyor, de la Fuente, can be traced. The title extended by the State of Tamaulipas to the Ballis is no doubt a valid one and should be sustained. But I conclude it was not intended to cede to the Ballis an entire island but only the pasture land on it. This land was surveyed while the title was in the process of being extended; plats showing the results of this survey are in the record; and under established principles, the footsteps of the original surveyor should be followed and the title upheld within the boundaries of his survey. Clark v. Hills, 67 Tex. 141 , 2 S.W. 356 ; Corrigan v. State, 42 Texas Civ. App. 171[ 42 Tex. Civ. App. 171 ], 94 S.W. 95 , affirmed 94 S.W. 101 ; Sullivan v. State, 41 Texas Civ. App. 89[ 41 Tex. Civ. App. 89 ], 95 S.W. 645 , affirmed 207 U.S. 416 , 28 S.Ct. 215 , 52 L.Ed. 274 .
I concur with the view of the majority on the law of accretions.
Opinion delivered November 7, 1945.

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/3943924. Public record. Not legal advice.
