Andersen Family Associates v. Hugh Ricci

OPINION

By the Court,

Parraguirre, J.:

In this appeal, we address whether an entity can lose its vested rights to utilize certain water flow — rights that it acquired before the adoption of Nevada’s statutory water law scheme — when a permit modifying those rights is canceled and later reinstated pursuant to NRS 533.395. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the cancellation and later reinstatement of a permit modifying an entity’s prestatutory vested water rights cannot result in the entity losing its priority to use that water flow because Nevada law prevents such rights from…