The End of the Tidelands Battle
Judge Hanford settles the long-standing Bedford-Grosscup tideland dispute, effectively ending litigation over the rights to Tacoma's valuable waterfront.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Judge Hanford yesterday clinched his recent decision in the Bedford-Grosscup tideland case by not only refusing to allow Bedford and Grosscup to file an amended complaint in federal court, but absolutely enjoining them from any further litigation in this court to put a cloud on the tideland titles. This settles the whole controversy so far as it can be settled by the court. Bedford and Grosscup can now appeal to the supreme court if they wish, but that is all that is left them. They have two years in which to appeal, but it is expected they will take the matter right up, if they do so at all. If it is hurried they can get it in by next October.
“This settles the whole controversy so far as it can be settled by the court.”
The 'tidelands' were once the center of intense legal warfare over who controlled the city's port access and economic future. Today, the legal arguments have shifted, but the struggle for control over Tacoma’s industrial waterfront remains a cornerstone of the city’s civic identity.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.