Musser v. Higginson

125 Idaho 392, 871 P.2d 809 (1962)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
M
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Musser v. Higginson

Idaho Supreme Court
125 Idaho 392, 871 P.2d 809 (1962)

Facts

Alvin and Tim Musser (plaintiffs) owned property in Idaho with an appurtenant water right in the Martin-Curran Tunnel (the tunnel) dating back to 1892. The tunnel was part of a tributary to the Snake River and had a hydrologic connection to the Snake plain aquifer. In 1993, the tunnel did not provide sufficient water to satisfy the Mussers’ water right, causing them to reduce their crops and leading to a loss of crops that had been planted. The Mussers demanded that the Idaho Department of Water Resources director, R. Keith Higginson (defendant), deliver their full water right. Higginson declined, claiming that he could not require the watermaster to conjunctively administer ground and surface water in the local water district. The Mussers sought a writ of mandate from the Idaho district court to compel Higginson to deliver the water according to their priority water right. Higginson filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that he was developing conjunctive management rules for the aquifer and the Snake River. The district court, noting that Idaho followed the prior-appropriation doctrine—first-in-time is first-in-right—denied the motion to dismiss and granted the Mussers’ request for an order compelling Higginson to deliver the water. Higginson appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Johnson, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 804,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Natural Resources

Key Terms