Salmon River Canal Co. v. District Court of the Eleventh Judicial District of the State of Idaho ex rel. Twin Falls County

221 P. 135, 38 Idaho 377, 1923 Ida. LEXIS 70
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 5, 1923
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 221 P. 135 (Salmon River Canal Co. v. District Court of the Eleventh Judicial District of the State of Idaho ex rel. Twin Falls County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Salmon River Canal Co. v. District Court of the Eleventh Judicial District of the State of Idaho ex rel. Twin Falls County, 221 P. 135, 38 Idaho 377, 1923 Ida. LEXIS 70 (Idaho 1923).

Opinion

VARIAN, Commissioner.

— This is an original proceeding to prohibit tbe district court of tbe eleventh judicial District of tbe state of Idaho, in and for Twin Falls County, William A. Babcock and T. Bailey Lee, judges of said court, and O. R. Baum, one of the judges of the district court of the fifth judicial district, from taking further proceedings in adjudging the plaintiffs herein, Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, a corporation, Robert Rayl, T. J. Douglas, C. A. McMaster, Waldemer Weddle, Nelson Hayward, Murray Brookman and A. J. Lindemar, members of the board of directors of the Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, Fred Bates, superintendent and water-master, and James R. Bothwell, attorney for the said Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, in contempt of court for failure to observe the provisions of a decree entered in the case of R. Glavin in his own behalf and in behalf of all persons similarly situated with him, plaintiffs, against Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, a corporation, defendants, in the district court of the eleventh judicial district, in and for Twin Falls county.

Application for an alternative writ of prohibition was filed in this court by said plaintiffs July 31, 1923, accompanied by an affidavit in support thereof executed by T. J. Douglas, Nelson Hayward and James R. Bothwell. The order for the writ was made and the writ issued July 31, 1923, re[380]*380quiring the said defendants to show cause in this court on August 8, 1923, why they should not be prohibited from further proceeding in said contempt proceedings. On August 8, 1923, the defendants demurred to the petition for the writ of prohibition and for grounds of demurrer alleged: (1) That the petition herein does not state facts sufficient to state a cause of action against the defendants or either of them; (2) that plaintiffs and petitioners have no standing herein for the reason that they and each of them have a plain, speedy and adequate and complete remedy at law; (3) “For the reason that it appears from said petition that the district court and the judge thereof had jurisdiction of the subject matter of the suit and of the parties, -and in proceeding was acting regularly and in accordance with the laws of the state of Idaho- and not in excess of the jurisdiction of said court or of said judge.”

The matter was heard upon the demurrer to the petition. It appears from the petition and affidavit above referred to that plaintiff Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, was organized for the purpose of owning and operating the canal system of the Salmon River Project in Twin Falls county, Idaho, embracing approximately 35,000 acres of irrigable land, and serving water to said lands from a storage reser voir known as the Salmon River Reservoir. On July 17, 1923, in the said action brought by R. Glavin on behalf of himself and all other persons similarly situated, as plaintiffs, against Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, a corporation, as defendant, in the district court of the eleventh judicial district, in and for the county of Twin Falls, findings of fact, conclusions of law and a decree were signed by the defendant T. Bailey Lee as a judge of said district court, which reads, after reciting that findings of fact and conclusions of law have been made, as follows:

“Now, therefore, under and by virtue of the facts and the law in the case, It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed, that the Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, its Board of Directors, Officers, Agents, Employees, Attorneys, and each of them, and all other persons acting by, [381]*381through, or under them, and each of them, be, and they are hereby Restrained and Enjoined from apportioning or attempting to apportion, allotting or attempting to allot, or distributing or attempting to distribute, the available water supply of the Salmon River Project or System for the year 1923, which includes the water carried over in the reservoir from the year 1922 to the year 1923, together with the run-off for the year 1923, to the settlers and land owners on said Project, on any other basis than a pro-rata acreage basis, that is, that each acre of land within said Salmon Project entitled to water, shall receive a pro-rata share of all the available supply of water for the year 1923, which includes the carry over from the year 1922 to the year 1923 and the run-off for the year 1923; that the available supply of water for the year 1923, as herein defined, shall be distributed to said settlers on said Salmon River Tract so that each acre of said land entitled to water shall receive an equal amount of water with every other acre, and that no discrimination shall be made in the allotting or distributing of said water for the year 1923, or any season thereafter.
“It is further Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed, that the Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, its Board of Directors, Officers, Agents, Employees, Attorneys, and each of them, and all persons acting by, through, or under them, and each of them, be, and they are hereby, Enjoined and Restrained from apportioning or attempting to apportion, allotting or attempting to allot, or distributing or attempting to distribute, the. available supply of water of the Salmon River Project for the year 1923, or any part thereof, in accordance with Rule Five of said Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, the same being the rule of the Company adopted and set forth in defendant’s answer.”

A clause is added giving plaintiffs judgment for their costs. Findings and decree were served on the defendants in said action on July 18, 1923, and the originals were filed with the clerk on that date. On July 20th an appeal was .taken to this court from said decree by giving and filing [382]*382with the clerk a notice of appeal and undertaking, conditioned under C. S., sec. 7154, in the sum of $300.

On July 20, 1923, counsel for the Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, filed an application on behalf of said company for an order fixing the amount of a supersedeas bond pursuant to the provisions of C. S., sec. 7158. On attempting to communicate with Judge Lee, who had tried the case, he ascertained on July 20th that he had left on his vacation and could not be had. He then on said date presented the application to Judge Babcock to fix the amount of the supersedeas bond and he declined, considering himself disqualified to act in the premises. Counsel for plaintiffs then notified Judge Lee’s reporter of the pending application to fix the amount of the supersedeas bond, and requested that he bring it to the judge’s notice at the earliest opportunity. Later, on August 4th, according to statements of counsel made at the hearing and not controverted, Judge George W. Edgington of the ninth district fixed the supersedeas bond in the sum of $10,000, which was given.

On July 24, 1923, R. Glavin et al., by their counsel, filed a petition for the enforcement of the decree of July 17, 1923, and on said 24th day of July, 1923, Judge Babcock issued an order to show cause, directed against the plaintiffs herein, before O. R. Baum, a judge of the fifth judicial district, on August 1, 1923, at 2 o’clock P. M., at Twin Falls, why they and each of them should not be punished for contempt in failing to obey the decree dated July 17, 1923.

So much of Rule Five of the Salmon River Canal Company, Limited, referred to in the affidavit and mentioned in the decree in the Glavin case as is necessary to an understanding of the issues involved here, is as follows:

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Related

Mays v. Winstead
86 P.2d 471 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1939)
Sanderson v. Salmon River Canal Co., Ltd.
263 P. 32 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1927)

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Bluebook (online)
221 P. 135, 38 Idaho 377, 1923 Ida. LEXIS 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/salmon-river-canal-co-v-district-court-of-the-eleventh-judicial-district-idaho-1923.