Spanish Fork City v. Jarvis
Spanish Fork City v. Jarvis
Opinion of the Court
This action was brought by the plaintiff against the defendants in the district court of Utah County to determine the right to the use of water. In substance the complaint alleges: That during the year 1914 the Denver & Eio Grande Eailroad Company in the construction of a railroad for the Utah Eail-
‘ ‘ That when, in 1914, a new line of railway was constructed and a cut through the lands above said springs was made, the most of the waters from said springs was cut off, but just as soon as said cut was completed sufficiently to permit it, the said waters were gathered together from said cut, and were*277 without objection from any person whomsoever immediately conveyed to the lands of the defendants aforesaid, and were by the defendants used for the irrigation of said lands and for the other beneficial purposes hereinbefore mentioned, and the said waters have always been in the possession and under the control of the defendants, except for a short time in October, 1914, when the plaintiff attempted to take said water under its control. That prior to the construction of said railroad cut, the waters came to said springs in well-defined, underground channels, and in the construction of said railroad cut, the said well-defined underground channels through which the waters of said springs were conveyed were cut off, and the water was thus interrupted in its flow to the said springs. That said water supplying said springs was not and is not seepage or percolation water. That by the diversion and conveying, regulating, and distributing of the said waters by the defendants for twenty-three years last past, the defendants have become the owners of the said waters and the whole thereof with the undisturbed right to use the same upon their said lands, and the right to use for domestic and culinary purposes, including the watering of stock. That in the construction of the said railroad cut, no additional water was developed, but the waters of said springs were cut off and caused to flow in a surface channel instead of in said underground channels as aforesaid. That the Denver & Bio Grande Bailroad Company, or the Utah Bailroad Company, or both of said companies, • did not acquire any water right by the construction of the said cut and the interrupting of the flow of the underground channels from which said springs were supplied.”
The conclusions of law and decree of the court follow and are in conformity with the foregoing findings complained of by the plaintiff.
We have carefully reviewed the record of the testimony adduced at the trial, and we deem it unnecessary to here make a detailed statement of our findings with respect thereto. Suffice it to say that, as we view the record, the findings of
This being an equity case, in harmony with the repeated decisions of this court, the findings and judgment of the trial court will not be disturbed where, as here, the great weight of the evidence supports them. Jones v. Bonanza M. & M. Co., 32 Utah, 440, 91 Pac. 273; Campbell v. Gowans, 35 Utah, 268, 100 Pac. 397, 23 L. R. A. (N. S.) 414, 19 Ann. Cas. 660.
It is ordered that the judgment of the district court be affirmed. Defendants to recover costs.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SPANISH FORK CITY v. JARVIS
- Status
- Published