State Engineer v. Smith Cattle, Inc.

I

Appellants Jeris A. Danielson, the State Engineer, and Steven Witte, the Division Engineer for Water Division No. 2 (engineers), appeal the judgment of the Water Court Division No. 2 (water court), which held that the engineers may not apply the Arkansas River Rules 1 to wells owned by SRJ I Venture (Venture) and the Travelers Insurance Company (Travelers). The water court ruled that the engineers’ attempt to apply the Arkansas River Rules to Venture’s and Travelers’ wells was barred by the doctrine of res judicata because in 1973 the water court had determined that Venture’s and Travelers’…