Cherokee Metropolitan District, Applicant-Appellant v. Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Management…

Summary

The court affirmed the abandonment of only those portions of Cherokee's conditional water rights for which Cherokee filed late to perfect its rights under the stipulated decree, holding that the decree made the two-year filing deadline mandatory and that abandonment was the intended consequence of noncompliance. The court rejected Cherokee's argument that contract damages or statutory filing protections applied, and held that the Objectors' enforcement efforts were not barred by the contract statute of limitations. The court reversed the attorney-fee award because Cherokee's legal theory was rational and not substantially frivolous, groundless, or vexatious. Justice Coats, joined by Justices Eid and Marquez, dissented, concluding that the decree did not clearly authorize abandonment or eliminate statutory notice protections.