Supreme Court of Colorado
Concerning the Application for Water Rights of Donald E. Dill, Cathie G. Dill, Jerry R. Pearce, and Frances M…
February 25, 2019435 P.3d 1067
Summary
The court held that the 1909 decree did not adjudicate an enforceable water right in the springs because it omitted an appropriation date, priority number, and quantity of water. Those omissions prevented the claimed entitlement from being enforced or administered against other adjudicated water rights, and the decree's clear language could not be supplemented by extrinsic evidence. The court therefore affirmed the water court's judgment.