West Side Irrigating Co. v. United States
Opinion of the Court
The West Side Irrigating Company, appellant, asks review of an order of the District Court dismissing an amended complaint and entering judgment accordingly. The suit was originally brought by the United States to restrain the Irrigating Company from diverting water from the Yakima river in violation of a certain agreement dated October 21, 1905. Final decree was entered in favor of the United States and upon appeal to this court we affirmed, the decree, and subsequently remittitur from this court was filed in the District Court in November, 1917. West Side Irrigating Co. v. United States, 246 Fed. 212, 158 C. C. A. 372; Id. (D. C.) 230 Fed. 284.
_ The original injunction ran against diversion by means of a canal of more than 80 cubic feet per second of the waters of Yakima river. The suit was brought to enforce the terms of a contract wherein it was agreed that, in order to avoid litigation and “as a compromise,” to secure the indirect benefit from irrigation through federal enterprise, each subscriber would limit its respective rights of appropriation to certain specified amounts. The West Side Irrigating Company pleaded that it was not intended that the contract should be a relinquishment of any of the rights of the stockholders, or to place the amount of water claimed by the shareholders in amounts less than the shareholders required for successful irrigation, and that it was not intended that they should be deprived of that right; that the agreement was signed with the understanding that the rule which the appellant had theretofore employed in measuring and delivering water to its stockholders should apply, and that the custom was to measure one inch of water per second of time per acre measured under a five-inch pressure at the point of delivery to the land. On the appeal to this court the contentions of the parties were so fully stated that we need not repeat them herein. Our decision affirmed the decree of the District Court.
Thereafter, in September, 1919, by order of this court, the Irrigating Company was permitted to file the bill of complaint' in the present suit. Appellant alleges appropriation and use since 1890 of 4,000 miner’s inches of water measured at the user’s distribution boxes; that on October 21, 1905, it made the agreement of limitation heretofore referred to at the solicitation of one Noble, agent and representative of the United States, by which the water should be measured in cubic feet per second of flow, instead of miner’s inches, which appellant was led to believe by Noble, a hydraulic engineer, was the equivalent of the water it was appropriating (4,000 miner’s inches) at the service boxes; that appellant did not discover that mistake had been made until 1908, whereupon appellant notified Noble and protested and repudiated the agreement, but that, although Noble was then employed in irrigation work by the state of Washington, appellant believed he was still employed by the United States Reclamation Service, and did not know to the contrary until the trial, had in 1914; that appellant
Plaintiff pleads surprise at the testimony of Noble, and that it believed such testimony, and says that if a new trial is granted Noble will testify that in 1905 and 1906 he was in the Reclamation Service, and was a party to securing the agreement of limitation heretofore referred to; that he left the United States Reclamation Service in 1907, and went into the employ of the Washington state water commissioner; that in 1908 he discussed with officers of the appellant company the limiting agreement, and was told by them that the company had been misled by misunderstanding and misrepresentation as to the effect of the agreement, and that they had been given to understand that the amount placed in the agreement was equal to 4,000 miner’s inches of water according to the method used by the company, and that the company would not be bound by the limiting agreement; that immediately afterwards Noble related the interview he had had with the officers of the appellant company to one Swigart, chief officer of the Reclamation Service in the Yakima projects, and told him of the protest and objection of the company, and that thereupon Swigart advised him (Noble) not to proceed to enforce the agreement; that upon the trial Noble testified, and after leaving the stand was asked by an officer of the appellant company if he (Noble) did not convey the statement and protest made, but that Noble said he did not remember; that afterwards, in 1918, long after the trial, Noble recalled the original interview with an official of appellant, and appellant now says that the reason the agreement of limitation was not enforced was because of the information conveyed to Swigart and his request not to proceed further.
Appellant pleads adverse user, and that it can prove its rights to 4,000 miner’s inches if given opportunity to be heard again, and that, because of suppression of the fact by the United States of notice of the protest, a manifest fraud and injustice was visited upon the Irrigating Company; that the reason the Irrigating Company did not immediately file its bill of review was because it believed application for redress was being favorably considered, and that it would be re
It appears that in deciding the original litigation this court considered the resolution of the board of directors of the Irrigating Company that the president and secretary be instructed to sign contracts with the government to accept 80 cubic feet of water per second from April 1st to October 1st, and 34 cubic feet from October 1st to November 1st, of each year, as the appropriation of the company of ,the waters of the river, provided the government should complete the irrigation project, and disposed of the suggestion made by the company that the agreement of limitation was founded upon mistake by saying:
“There is no evidence whatever that there was a mutual mistake, and there is no convincing evidence of a mistake on the part of appellant or its stockholders. And if, indeed, there was a mistake on their part, they waived the right to assert it by their subsequent silence. There is no plea of mistake in the answer to the complaint. The whole defense of the appellant as pleaded rests upon its construction and conception of the terms of the agreement itself.”
We also held that the defense that the agreement of limitation was void for lack of authority on the part of the directors of the company to surrender any part of the physical property of the company was not pleaded in the answer, and that the stockholders had not been shown to Have given notice to any officer of the United States that they repudiated the contract, but, on the contrary, had, by their silence, ratified the same. We regarded the case as presenting “only a written instrument and the meaning of its terms/5 and we held that the instrument ¡was definite and void of ambiguity, and was made in pursuance of the express authority of a resolution of appellant’s directors, and, as testified to, was made for the purpose of giving the government a definite and certain figure which it could rely upon ,as appellant’s right to the appropriation of water.
There is no substantial showing that the officials of the Irrigating Company were diligent in bringing to the attention of Noble the fact
counsel for appellant say that they do not contend that there was intentional bad faith on the part of the government, but that the suppression by Swigart operated to their grave injury and was in effect fraudulent. It goes without saying that the agents of the United States should always deal in the utmost candor and truth with those persons with whom they have official relations; yet this is far from saying that upon the trial of definite issues presented by the pleadings in a litigation between the United States and a citizen, where in good faith the government is asserting a contractual obligation incurred under a writing, it is the duty of such officials to offer testimony in behalf of the one who asserts rights against the United States, and ir?
After careful examination of the case, our conclusion is that the District Court was correct in its decision, and that the judgment should be affirmed.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- WEST SIDE IRRIGATING CO. v. UNITED STATES
- Status
- Published