IN EQUITY C-125-C: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. WALKER RIVER IRRIGATION

• Court: District Court, D. Nevada
• Decided: March 9, 2023
• Docket: 3:73-cv-00128
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 RODERICK E. WALSTON Pro hac vice (Cal. Bar No. 32675) 2 MILES B. H. KRIEGER Pro hac vice (Cal. Bar No. 309797) 3 BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP 2001 North Main Street, Suite 390 4 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Telephone: (925) 977-3304 5 Mobile: (925) 375-9511 roderick.walston@bbklaw.com 6 miles.krieger@bbklaw.com 7 Attorneys for Defendant CENTENNIAL LIVESTOCK 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 11 12 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN EQUITY NO. C-125 13 Plaintiff, Case No. 3:73-CV-00128-MMD-CSD 14 WALKER RIVER PAIUTE TRIBE, 15 Plaintiff-Intervenor, MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE 16 PARTY AND ORDER v. 17 WALKER RIVER IRRIGATION 18 DISTRICT, a corporation, et al., 19 Defendants. 20 MINERAL COUNTY, 21 Plaintiff-Intervenor, 22 WALKER RIVER IRRIGATION DISTRICT, 23 Defendants, 24 25 26 27 1 MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE PARTY 2 Pursuant to Rule 25(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), 3 defendant Centennial Livestock hereby moves to substitute Wood Bridgeport, 4 LLC, and Lacey Livestock, for Centennial Livestock as defendants in this action. 5 Centennial Livestock has transferred its ownership interest in its land and water 6 rights, including its water rights in the Walker River, to the aforementioned 7 entities, as a result of which Centennial Livestock has ceased to own any land or 8 water rights affected by the action. The grounds for this motion are set forth in the 9 Memorandum of Points and Authorities, and on all papers and pleadings on file in 10 this proceeding. 11 12 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES 13 14 1. Rule 25(c) of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 15 16 Under Rule 25(c) of the FRCP, if the interest of a party is transferred, the 17 action may be continued by or against the original party unless the court, on 18 motion, orders the transferee to be substituted in the action. “Rule 25(c) is not 19 designed to create new relationships among parties to a suit but is designed to 20 allow the action to continue unabated when an interest in the lawsuit changes 21 hands.” In re Bernal, 207 F.3d 595, 598 (9th Cir. 2000), quoting Collateral 22 Control Corp v. Deal, 638 F.2d 1362, 1264 (5th Cir. 1981). According to a leading 23 treatise: 24 The most significant feature of Rule 25(c) is that it does not require 25 that anything be done after an interest has been transferred. The 26 action may be continued by or against the original party, and the judgment will be binding on his successor in interest even though he 27 is not named. An order of joinder is merely a discretionary 1 determination by the trial court that the transferee’s presence would facilitate the conduct of the litigation. 2 3 7C Charles Alan Writ, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and 4 Procedure § 1958 (2d ed. 1986) (footnote omitted). 5 6 2. Factual Grounds for Motion 7 8 Centennial Livestock is a limited liability partnership located in and 9 established under the laws of California. Centennial Livestock possesses water 10 rights in the Walker River, which were recognized and adjudicated in the Walker 11 River Decree. Centennial Livestock is one of the defendants in this action, and is 12 also one of the Principal Defendants, who are the defendants that have actively 13 participated in the litigation. Centennial Livestock has actively participated in this 14 litigation, by, among other things, filing pleadings, motions and briefs, and joining 15 in actions taken by the other Principal Defendants. 16 17 For succession planning and other actions unrelated to the pending action, 18 Centennial Livestock recently transferred its ownership interests in its land and 19 water rights, including its water rights in the Walker River, to its general partners. 20 As a result, the land and water rights formerly owned by Centennial Livestock are 21 now owned by two new entities—Wood Bridgeport, LLC, a California limited 22 liability company, and Lacey Livestock, a California general partnership. As a 23 result of the transfer, Wood Bridgeport, LLC, will own 52%, and Lacey Livestock 24 48%, of Centennial Livestock’s land and water rights, including its water rights in 25 the Walker River. As a result of the transfer, Centennial Livestock has ceased to 26 own any land or water rights affected by the action. 27 1 This motion is to substitute the two new entities—Wood Bridgeport, LLC, 2 and Lacey Livestock—for Centennial Livestock under Rule 25(c) of the FRCP. 3 The substitution of the new entities for Centennial Livestock would facilitate the 4 conduct of this litigation. Centennial Livestock no longer has an interest in the 5 action, and there is no longer a basis for Centennial Livestock’s being a defendant 6 in this action. On the other hand, the two successor entities—Wood Bridgeport, 7 LLC, and Lacey Livestock—now possess the water rights in the Walker River that 8 were formerly held by Centennial Livestock, and thus they have the same interest 9 in defending their water rights in the instant action that Centennial Livestock 10 formerly had. Therefore, it is appropriate that Wood Bridgeport, LLC, and Lacey 11 Livestock be substituted for Centennial Livestock as defendants in this action. 12 13 The two new entities will be represented by Centennial Livestock’s counsel, 14 Roderick E. Walston. 15 16 CONCLUSION 17 18 For the foregoing reasons, this Court should grant the motion to substitute 19 Wood Bridgeport, LLC, and Lacey Livestock, for Centennial Livestock as 20 defendants in this action. 21 Dated: March 8, 2023 22 By: /s/ Roderick E. Walston RODERICK E. WALSTON 23 Counsel for defendant Centennial Livestock 24 25 26 27 1 ORDER 2 Wood Bridgeport, LLC, and Lacey Livestock shall be substituted for 3 || defendant Centennial Livestock as defendants in this action. A DATED: March 9, 2023. CS Ox 6 United States Mg@fStrate Judge 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ANAT ATTAIN 4 2.72 CUT MM199 ANID □□□