Fuss v. Franks
Wyoming Supreme Court
610 P.2d 17 (1980)
- Written by Curtis Parvin, JD
Facts
Three sets of landowners (John and Martha Fuss, Dale and Ralph Bremer, and Myrtrice Baumgartner) had appropriative water rights in the Goshen County Irrigation District to divert water to irrigate their lands. After the irrigation use, wastewater would seep down to a drainage ditch, gather in a state-highway borrow pit, migrate some distance to a tunnel under the highway, and eventually flow to a stream. For many years, the Fusses (plaintiffs) had used water that had crossed under the highway to irrigate some land that was not part of the Fuss’s appropriative water right. William Franks (defendant) applied to the state engineer and received a permit to build a dam to intercept the wastewater at the borrow pit, enabling Franks to apply the wastewater for beneficial use on his lands. The Fusses filed an action to stop Franks from diverting the water so that the Fusses could continue to use the water on their land. The superior court dismissed the Fusses’ action, finding that Franks had lawfully appropriated the water. The Fusses appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rose, J.)
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