Opinion ID: 1219144
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Excessive and Unwarranted Findings

Text: AWDI asserts that the trial court's 104 page Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Judgment and Decree contains a multitude of findings and conclusions irrelevant to the character of the water [as tributary or nontributary] and requests that these findings and conclusions be excised from the decree. AWDI expresses concern that some of these findings may have a collateral estoppel effect in the event a tributary claim is reasserted in the future. We believe this concern is ill founded. Collateral estoppel bars relitigation of an issue only under the following conditions: (1) The issue precluded is identical to an issue actually litigated and necessarily adjudicated in the prior proceeding; (2) the party against whom estoppel is sought was a party to or was in privity with a party to the prior proceeding; (3) there was a final judgment on the merits in the prior proceeding; and (4) the party against whom the doctrine is asserted had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue in the prior proceeding. Denver v. Consolidated Ditches Co., 807 P.2d 23, 32 (Colo.1991); accord, e.g., Pomeroy v. Waitkus, 183 Colo. 344, 350-51, 517 P.2d 396, 399 (1973). To the extent that any of the findings and conclusions of the trial court were not necessarily adjudicated or actually litigated under circumstances where AWDI had a full and fair opportunity to litigate, they can have no collateral estoppel effect. Once the tributary claim had been dismissed and the injury and mitigation issues eliminated by bifurcation, the issues necessarily adjudicated were those required for determination of whether the water sought to be withdrawn met the statutory definition of nontributary ground water. Therefore, to the extent the trial court's findings and conclusions go beyond those necessary for such a determination, they can have no collateral estoppel effect in future litigation. Under these circumstances, we consider it unnecessary to make a determination of which, if any, of the findings and conclusions are not necessary or to excise any such findings or conclusions from the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Judgment and Decree.