Union C. Co. v. Madera Canal & Irrigation Co.

This action was brought in the superior court of Madera County by owners of lands riparian to the Fresno River to determine the extent ¡of the right of the defendant to divert waters from said river. The suit was instituted in 1900 by California Pastoral and Agricultural Company, Limited, and others, then the owners of the lands alleged to be affected by the diversion complained of. A trial resulted in a judgment declaring that the defendant, Madera Canal and Irrigation Company, was entitled to divert and take from the Fresno River water to the extent of 250 cubic feet running per second when there was sufficient water to furnish that amount, and all of the waters flowing in the river at the point of diversion when there was less. The plaintiffs appealed from the judgment and from an order denying their motion for a new trial, and the judgment and order were reversed. (California Pastoral & Agr. Co. v. Madera Canal & Irr. Co., 167 Cal. 78 , [ 138 Pac. 718 ].) The court below had found that the amount of water allowed had been diverted by the defendant for the statutory period and beneficially used in the irrigation of lands lying under the flow of defendant’s system of canals and…