Keating, et al. v. Nebraska Public Power District, et al., No. 10-2441 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseSeveral Nebraska farmers filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging their due process rights were violated when Nebraska officials ordered the farmers to cease drawing water from the Niobrara Watershed without providing a predeprivation hearing. The court agreed with the district court that the farmers have not suffered a deprivation of their property rights where the property right held by the farmers was expressly conditioned on the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) determination of watershed capacity. Therefore, the farmers had no legitimate claim to the water when the DNR determined that there was a scarcity and the issuance of Closing Notices was necessary to satisfy the needs of senior appropriators. The court also held that the district court was permitted to dismiss without prejudice the pendent state-law ultra vires claim in light of its grant of summary judgment on the section 1983 claim.
Court Description: Civil case - Civil rights. For the court's earlier opinion in this action alleging Nebraska officials violated the plaintiff farmers' rights by ordering them to cease drawing water from the Niobrara Watershed without providing a predeprivation hearing, see Keating v. Neb. Pub. Power Dist., 562 F.3d 923 (8th Cir. 2009); because the issuance of closing notices does not impact the property right bestowed by the permit to use the surface water when there is insufficient capacity, the plaintiffs were not deprived of that property right; district court was permitted to dismiss without prejudice the pendent state law claim in light of its summary judgment on plaintiffs' Section 1983 claim.
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