Washington State Sugar Co. v. Goodrich

147 P. 1073, 27 Idaho 26, 1915 Ida. LEXIS 35
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 3, 1915
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 147 P. 1073 (Washington State Sugar Co. v. Goodrich) 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
Washington State Sugar Co. v. Goodrich, 147 P. 1073, 27 Idaho 26, 1915 Ida. LEXIS 35 (Idaho 1915).

Opinions

BUDGE, J.

— This is an action brought in the district court of the eighth judicial district for the county of Kootenai, to quiet title to the waters of Lewellyn creek, a small stream rising in the mountains east of the lands now owned and in the possession of appellant and respondents, in this action.

Appellant owns a farm of 2,000 acres, situated about five miles from the point of diversion of appellant company’s ditch on Lewellyn creek. When this action was commenced, a considerable portion of this land was in a high state of cultivation. It is arid in character and requires irrigation for its successful cultivation. These lands were partially irrigated from a stream known as Sage creek, not in controversy in this action. Into this creek appellant undertook to convey the waters of Lewellyn creek by means of a ditch, the intake of which is located at or near what is known as Eoush’s sawmill.

On November 11, 1899, J. C. Eoush, by written notice, appropriated and claimed 100 cubic feet of water per second of [32]*32time of the waters of Lewellyn creek. On June 4, 1906, and on July 15, 1907, upon application duly made, the state engineer issued and subsequently approved permit No. 2158 to ^Edwin McBee and permit No. 2978 to S. E. Beggs, for 25 and 9.6 cubic feet of water per second of time, respectively. Oh May 17, 1907, McBee assigned to Beggs all his right, title and interest to the use of the waters of Lewellyn creek, under permit No. 2158, and Beggs, thereafter, on September 14, 1908, conveyed the same to the appellant herein, on which date he also transferred to appellant the right to the use of the waters of Lewellyn creek under permit No. 2978; records of which transfers were made in the office of the state engineer, on July 21, 1910. On September 23, 1908, J. C. Roush, by a written conveyance, transferred to appellant all right, title and interest claimed under his appropriation to the waters of Lewellyn creek.

During the month of October, 1908, and subsequent to the date of the purchase of the aforementioned rights to the use of the waters of Lewellyn creek, appellant commenced the construction of the Corbin ditch and flume and prosecuted the work to completion during 1910, or 1911.

Lewellyn creek, from the intake of appellant’s canal, runs in a westerly direction through the lands of the respondents, who claim the right to the use of the waters of said creek by reason of the construction of a ditch, known as the Hall-Goodrich ditch, in 1894, diverting the water of said stream to and upon their respective lands, and also by the posting of water location notices and causing the same to be recorded in the county recorder’s office of Kootenai county. This diversion and use, as well as the posting and filing of notices of appropriation of the waters of Lewellyn creek, respondents contend was prior to the right, if any, of the appellant and its predecessors.

Lewellyn creek takes its name from Amerieus Lewellyn, who was the first pioneer to settle in that locality. It is contended that Jacob Goodrich and D. C. Hall located on Lewellyn creek in 1891, and that Goodrich constructed a ditch, and [33]*33diverted the water to his home for domestic purposes; that in 1894 Hall constructed a ditch connecting with the west end of the Goodrich ditch and carried the water on to his place. This ditch, therefore, became known as the Hall, or the Hall-Goodrich ditch, through which respondents have conducted water for the irrigation of portions of their respective lands. The date of the construction of the ditch, the size of the ditch when constructed, the date of the enlargement of the ditch, its fall and capacity, as well as the actual date of appropriation of the water of the Lewellyn creek and its use by the respective respondents and their predecessors in interest, together with amount of water put to a beneficial use and necessary for the proper irrigation of the lands of the respondents, and the area of lands irrigated by each of the respondents and their predecessors in interest, are involved in this litigation.

The record in this case is voluminous. Appellant’s counsel makes twenty-five assignments of error, a number of which are subdivided. We shall not attempt to discuss separately each assignment of error upon which appellant relies for a reversal of the judgment. Appellant bases its right to the use of waters of Lewellyn creek, upon permits Nos. 2158 and 2978; also upon J. C. Roush’s appropriation. Permit No. 2978, application of Beggs for 9.6 cubic feet per second of time, of the waters of Lewellyn creek, contains necessary information required under the statutes, describing the lands to be irrigated, the quantity of water claimed, estimated cost of work, description of works for diversion, time required for the completion of the construction of the work and the approval of the state engineer, which permit when approved, was subject to the following limitations and conditions, to wit: “Work to begin on or before October 9th, 1907 and to continue diligently and uninterruptedly to completion, .... one-fifth of the work above specified to be completed on or before February 10, 1909. The whole of said work to be completed on or before August 10, 1910. The time for proof [34]*34of beneficial use of water appropriated in accordance herewith, to extend to August 10, 1913. ’ ’ Permit No. 2158, which is McBee’s application to appropriate 25 cubic feet per second of time of the waters of Lewellyn creek, contains the same conditions and limitations set out in permit No. 2978 and has indorsed thereon the approval of the state engineer on July 28,1906, and provides that one-fifth of the work specified in the permit shall be completed on or before January 28, 1909; the whole of said work to be completed on or before July 28, 1911. The time for making proof of beneficial use of the water attempted to be appropriated was extended to July 28, 1915.

A comparison of the description of the land to be irrigated as described in the aforesaid permits and the land set out in the appellant’s complaint, as owned and sought to be irrigated by appellant, establishes the fact that they are not the same, but entirely different lands.

Sec. 3254, Rev. Codes, as amended by Sess. Laws 1905, p. 361, sec. 2, provides: “Every holder of a permit which shall be issued under the terms and conditions of an application filed hereafter appropriating 25 cubic feet or less per second, must, within 60 days from the date upon which said permit issues from the office of the state engineer, commence the excavation or construction of the works by which he intends to divert the water, and must prosecute the work diligently and uninterruptedly to completion, unless temporarily interrupted through no fault of the holder of such permit by circumstances over which he has no control.....

“The holder of any .permit who shall fail to comply with the provisions of this section within the time or times specified shall be deemed to have abandoned all right under his permit.” Sec. 3257 Rev. Codes, as amended by Sess. Laws, 1913, p. 509, provides: “On or before the date set for the completion of works for the diversion and application of water under any permit, the holder of such permit, or his assigns, shall be prepared to submit proof of the completion of such works to the state engineer. Such holder of such permit shall first [35]*35notify the state engineer that he is prepared to submit such proof of completion of such works.”

It will be seen from an inspection of the McBee and Beggs permits, Nos.

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Bluebook (online)
147 P. 1073, 27 Idaho 26, 1915 Ida. LEXIS 35, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washington-state-sugar-co-v-goodrich-idaho-1915.