What is the doctrine of equitable estoppel?

The doctrine of equitable estoppel is a legal doctrine that applies to water law in Pennsylvania. The doctrine is based on the principle of fairness and prevents parties from being able to gain an unfair advantage over another party by changing their position after the other party has acted in reliance on them. The doctrine states that a party cannot deny something they have previously represented or accepted. Essentially, if a party made a representation and another party relied on that representation by changing their position, the first party is estopped from denying the representation. For example, say a seller of a piece of land in Pennsylvania had told a buyer that the land had enough water for their needs. The buyer then purchased the land in reliance of that statement. If the buyer found out that the land was later found to not have enough water, the seller could not then deny the statement they made. It is important to be aware of this doctrine since it applies to all water disputes in Pennsylvania. It also helps courts award damages to plaintiffs and helps ensure parties are not able to take advantage of each other in water law disputes.

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What is the doctrine of equitable estoppel?

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