Little v. Greene & Weed Investment

STEWART, Justice.

This case is here on certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals which held that a water right will not pass as an appurtenance to land conveyed by deed under Utah Code Ann. § 73-1-11 until the State Engineer issues a certificate of appropriation. We affirm this holding, but reverse on other grounds and remand.

The facts are not in dispute. Lester and Madge Little, husband and wife, owned a tract of land in the Johnson Canyon area of Kanab, Utah. On April 12, 1955, Lester filed an application to appropriate water with the Utah State Engineer’s Office. The application, No. 26838…