People Ex Rel. Simpson v. Highland Irr.

Defendants-Appellants The Highland Irrigation Company and The Nine Mile Canal Company (the defendants) appeal a ruling by the District Court, Water Division 2 (the water court), which enjoined the defendants from diverting water in contradiction to the orders of the Division Engineer for Water Division 2 (the division engineer). The water court held that the defendants were without standing to assert, as an affirmative defense to the injunction action initiated by the People of the State of Colorado (the State), that the division engineer’s curtailment orders were invalid.

We find that the…