A real estate lawsuit out of Emerald Isle is headed to the North Carolina Supreme Court and some say the result of the case could spell disaster for Crystal Coast tourism.

“It would kill us from a tourism standpoint that is the number one industry in the economy,” said Carol Lohr, executive director of the Crystal Coast Tourism Development Authority.

At center of the controversy are the Nies family, who say that theTown of Emerald Isle has illegally appropriated their beachfront property.

“They’re basically saying we can use your property as if it’s our property,” said J. David Breemer, who represents the Nies on behalf of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing the Nies for free.

The controversy stems from the town taking a 20-foot-long piece of property from the mean high water mark to the sand dunes and using it for emergency vehicle and response access.

Breemer said the town and those “in their corner are out to slay a dragon that does not exist,” in regards to Emerald Isle and Crystal Coast Tourism saying if the Nies win this case, public beaches will be lost all across the island and the state.

“No one is claiming anyone will lose public beach access,” Breemer said.

Instead, he said this is about one particular piece of land that was unlawfully obtained by the town through the “Public Trust Doctrine,” which is a theory, not a law, that states any beach property belongs to the state, or in this case the town.

Breemer said his clients object to the process in which their land was taken and that there are all sorts of vehicles driving and parking on the land, not just emergency crews.

“They need to go through a legal process to obtain the land … They are covering up the fact that they didn’t do,” he said.

Lohr said a victory for the Nies would not only be a detrimental to the health of the Crystal Coast’s economy, but to the health of beachgoers as well.

“Just imagine if someone is drowning and no one can get there to save them,” she said.