Young & Norton v. Hinderlider

M.C. Hinderlider (defendant) applied for a permit with the territorial engineer to appropriate water from the La Plata River in New Mexico to build a reservoir to support the recovery and irrigation of 14,000 acres of land. Two months later, Messrs. Young, Norton, and others (collectively, Young) (plaintiff) filed a similar application for a smaller reservoir to support the irrigation of 5,000 acres. The territorial engineer initially approved Hinderlider’s first-filed application, but after a protest by Young, the engineer reversed his decision based on public-interest considerations and approved Young’s application instead. In approving the Young application, the territorial engineer determined that (1) Hinderlider’s application would create a reservoir and provide irrigation on both public and private lands (including Young’s), (2) Hinderlider did not reside on the lands, whereas Young did, (3) the per-acre cost of Hinderlider’s project was twice that of Young’s, and (4) the available water would only irrigate 5,000 to 6,000 acres. Hinderlider appealed to the board of water commissioners (the board), which held that the territorial engineer could only deny an application as against the public interest if the project was injurious to health and safety. Because Hinderlider’s project would not injure the health and safety of the public, Hinderlider’s application was improperly denied. The board reversed the territorial engineer’s decision and approved Hinderlider’s application. Young sought review by the district court, which upheld the board’s decision. Young appealed to the New Mexico Territory Supreme Court.