Kelly v. Teton Prairie LLC
Montana Supreme Court
376 P.3d 143 (2016)
- Written by Colette Routel, JD
Facts
Steven Kelly (plaintiff) possessed water rights in the state of Montana, which followed the prior-appropriation doctrine. When Kelly determined that the river he utilized would soon run dry and he would not be able to extract the quantities of water he had a right to extract, he called upon upstream junior users to cease diverting water. Teton Prairie LLC (defendant), which possessed water rights approximately 200 miles upstream from Kelly, refused to cease diverting water even though its water rights were junior to Kelly’s. Teton Prairie claimed that doing so would be futile because even if it stopped using water, that water would most likely never reach Kelly because of the distance between them. Kelly sued to enforce the call and introduced expert testimony indicating that some water would have reached his appropriation location had Teton Prairie ceased diverting water. The district court found in Kelly’s favor, and Teton Prairie appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Wheat, J.)
Concurrence (Rice, J.)
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