SRJ I VENTURE v. Smith Cattle, Inc.

This appeal was initiated by Smith Cattle, Inc. (Smith) and Reid Cattle Co. (Reid), defendants below, to review a decision of the District Court, Water Division No. 2. The water court granted judgment for Travelers Insurance Company (Travelers), denying Smith and Reid’s request for a curtailment of Travelers’ decreed water rights in order to preserve the natural subirrigation, seepage and springs on Smith’s property. The court also denied Smith and Reid’s request to enjoin Travelers, a junior water rights holder, from pumping water from certain wells. The water court also determined that…