United States v. Alpine Land & Reservoir, Co.

This matter represents yet another chapter in the litigation over rights to the waters of the Carson and Truckee Rivers. See, e.g., Nevada v. United States, 463 U.S. 110 , 108 S.Ct. 2906 , 77 L.Ed.2d 509 (1983); United States v. Alpine Land & Reservoir Co., 697 F.2d 851 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 863 , 104 S.Ct. 193 , 78 L.Ed.2d 170 (1983). We are here concerned with a 1980 decree that comprehensively adjudicated rights to the use of the waters of the Carson River. That decree set forth, inter alia, the amount of water that Alpine Land & Reservoir Company (“Alpine”), one of the defendants in the adjudication, was entitled to store in each of its four upstream reservoirs. In 1991, Alpine sought a modification of that decree pursuant to Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) so as to increase its storage rights. The United States now appeals the district court’s decision to grant that motion. United States v. Alpine Land & Reservoir Co., 769 F.Supp. 1142 (D.Nev.1991).

The district court opinion contains most of the background of this dispute. Briefly summarized, the record demonstrates that Alpine has owned the four reservoirs in question since 1895. Alpine increased the storage…