Opinion ID: 783261
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Determination of Intent to Abandon

Text: 47 In Nevada, abandonment of a water right is the voluntary relinquishment of the right by the owner with the intention to forsake and desert it. In re Manse Spring, 60 Nev. 280, 108 P.2d 311, 315 (1940). Abandonment requires both action and intent, and under Nevada law is a question of fact to be determined from all the surrounding circumstances. Revert v. Ray, 95 Nev. 782, 786, 603 P.2d 262, 264 (1979). 12 The parties, however, argue that our case law, primarily as set forth in Orr Ditch and Alpine V, requires a very different analysis as to abandonment. Indeed, applicant transferees (appellees) argue that with respect to some applications, irrespective of the Engineer's erroneous conclusion regarding the equitable intrafarm exemptions, there is sufficient evidence in the record to approve the transfers because the Tribe failed to show that the landowners intended to abandon their rights. 48 As a preliminary matter, we have stated several times that — unlike in most Western states — in Nevada non-use alone does not create a rebuttable presumption of an intent to abandon a water right. See Alpine V, 291 F.3d at 1072; see also Orr Ditch, 256 F.3d at 945. Furthermore, as stated above, under Nevada law, a determination of whether there exists an intent to abandon requires a consideration of all the relevant circumstances. See Revert, 603 P.2d at 264; see also In re Manse Spring, 108 P.2d at 316 (stating that courts must determine the intent of the claimant to decide whether abandonment has taken place, and in this determination may take non-use and other circumstances into consideration). 49 However, in Orr Ditch we set forth guiding principles that courts are to apply when confronted with a claim of abandonment: 50 Where there is evidence of both a substantial period of nonuse, combined with evidence of an improvement which is inconsistent with irrigation, the payment of taxes or assessments, alone, will not defeat a claim of abandonment. If, however, there is only evidence of nonuse, combined with the finding of a payment of taxes or assessments, the court concludes that the Tribe has failed to provide clear and convincing evidence of abandonment. 51 Orr Ditch, 256 F.3d at 946 (quoting the district court in Alpine IV ). 52 In Alpine V, we described the evidence required to prove or dispute a claim of abandonment as follows: 53 [a]t a minimum, proof of continuous use of the water right should be required to support a finding of lack of intent to abandon. In addition, each landowner should be required to present evidence that he or she attempted unsuccessfully to file for a change in place of use, or at least inquired about the possibility of a transfer and was told by the government or TCID that such a transfer was not permitted. 54 Alpine V, 291 F.3d at 1077. 55 The two cases may appear somewhat in tension, as Orr Ditch states explicitly that proof of use is not needed to defeat an allegation of abandonment, while Alpine V appears to affirmatively require proof of continuous use. Read together, however, we view the cases as requiring proof of continuous use in the absence of other evidence of lack of intent to abandon, such as payment of taxes or assessments; when such proof does exist, then proof of continuous use is not necessarily compelled. Indeed, this reading is consistent with the reaffirmation in Alpine V of our conclusion in Orr Ditch that abandonment is to be determined `from all the surrounding circumstances.' Id. at 1072 (quoting Orr Ditch, 256 F.3d at 946). 56 In addition, although we also reaffirmed in Alpine V that a showing of non-use does not result in a rebuttable presumption of an intent to abandon, see id. (citing Orr Ditch, 256 F.3d at 945), once the protestant has offered some evidence of abandonment, the applicant must make some showing of use or of a lack of intent to abandon in order to withstand the challenge. Thus, we reject the individual applicants' argument that Alpine V 's minimum requirements are contrary to Nevada state law's requirement that all of the circumstances surrounding abandonment must be considered in determining whether the water right has been abandoned. On the contrary, reading Alpine V and Orr Ditch together, we see that Alpine V 's requirements help guide the Engineer's consideration of all the relevant circumstances. 57 Together, Alpine V and Orr Ditch suggest that in order to defeat a claim of abandonment the transfer applicant must show continuous use and an attempt to transfer the water right. The extensive history of this water rights transfer litigation has established that a landowner's decision not to apply for a transfer in light of the Reclamation Act's directive that state law governs such transfers was a decision taken at the applicant's own risk. See Alpine II, 878 F.2d at 1223 (holding that the 1902 Reclamation Act, not our approval of the Alpine Decree in 1983, established the application of state law). Furthermore, in the context of the Reclamation Project, we have clearly stated that as a matter of law, it is correct to say that the water rights in question attached to the specific parcel to which water was beneficially applied, rather than the entire property under contract. Alpine V, 291 F.3d at 1075 n. 18. Thus, our decision in Alpine V setting forth a transfer applicant's minimum showing to establish a lack of intent to abandon directs our present inquiry into the intent to abandon.