United States v. Walker River Irrigation District, No. 15-16478 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's order dismissing an action brought by the United States and the Walker River Paiute Tribe against the Walker River Irrigation District and others over water rights in the Walker River basin. In 2015, without briefing or argument on the issue, the district court sua sponte dismissed all of the Tribe's and the United States' counterclaims on res judicata or jurisdictional grounds. The panel held that the district court had continuing jurisdiction over the counterclaims and that it erred in dismissing the claims on res judicata or jurisdictional grounds without giving the parties an opportunity to brief the issue. On remand, the panel ordered the reassignment of this case to another district judge.
Court Description: Water Rights. The panel reversed the district court’s order dismissing, on res judicata grounds, an action brought by the United States and the Walker River Paiute Tribe against the Walker River Irrigation District and others concerning water rights in the Walker River basin. This case began in 1924 when the United States filed suit in Nevada federal court to establish water rights in the Walker River Basin on behalf of the Walker River Paiute Tribe. In 1936, the court entered the Water River Decree awarding water rights to the Tribe and various other claimants. In 1940, after remand from the Ninth Circuit, the district court amended the original decree and retained jurisdiction to modify it. In 1991, the Walker River Irrigation District filed a petition invoking the court’s continuing jurisdiction over the waters of the Walker River. The petition was in response to a California State Water Resources Control Board decision to issue restrictions on the District’s California water licenses. The current appeals arise from the counterclaims in the 1991 action filed by the Tribe in 1992 (and later by the United 8 UNITED STATES V. WALKER RIVER IRRIGATION DIST. States) asserting new water rights. In May 2015, without briefing or argument on the issue, the district court sua sponte dismissed all of the Tribe’s and the United States’ counterclaims on res judicata or jurisdictional grounds. The panel first held that the district court was correct that it retained jurisdiction to litigate additional rights in the Walker River Basin and to modify the 1936 Decree. On the merits, the panel held that the district court erred in characterizing the counterclaims as part of a new action. The panel concluded that based on the procedural history and the fact that the Tribe and the United States brought their counterclaims under the same caption as the 1924 action, the counterclaims did not constitute a new action. The panel further held that the district court erred by dismissing the claims sua sponte on the basis of res judicata without first giving the parties an opportunity to be heard on the issue. Moreover, the panel held that because the counterclaims were not a new action, traditional claim preclusion and issue preclusion did not apply. The panel directed that on remand, the case should be randomly reassigned to a different district judge. The panel reluctantly concluded that reassignment was appropriate because it believed (1) that Judge Jones would have substantial difficulty putting out of his mind previously expressed views about the federal government and its attorneys, and (2) that reassignment will preserve the appearance of justice. UNITED STATES V. WALKER RIVER IRRIGATION DIST. 9
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