Spear T Ranch, Inc. v. Nebraska Department of Natural Resources

I.NATURE OF CASE

Spear T Ranch, Inc. (Spear T), filed a claim for damages with the State Claims Board under the State Tort Claims Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-8,209 et seq. (Reissue 2003). The board denied the claim, and Spear T subsequently brought an action against the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (Department). Spear T alleged that the Department was negligent in failing to protect Spear T’s surface water appropriations and that the Department had permitted the diversion of water from Spear T’s land, which greatly reduced the value of the land and resulted in an unauthorized taking…