Colorado Supreme Court to Hear "Water Case of the Decade" at the Sturm College of Law; Oral Argument Set for Jan. 20, 2011

The Colorado Supreme Court will hear what has been described as "the water law case of the decade" on Jan. 20, 2011, at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Knowing the importance of this particular case and that many DU law students will be interested in the case, the Sturm College of Law approached Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs about the possibility of having the Supreme Court hear the case at DU and the Court agreed.

The case, commonly referred to as the Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Company matter, involves five or six long-standing key Colorado water law doctrines. The case will attract the attention of water lawyers from all around the state as well as various groups such as the Agricultural Ditch and Reservoir Company, the Cache La Poudre Water Users Association, the Conejos Water Conservancy District, the Golden Canal and Reservoir Company, the Rio Grande Water Users Association, the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District, and the city of Westminster.

The Supreme Court will hear the case, which will be open to College of Law students, in the law school courtroom on the first floor. The exact details of when the case will be heard on Jan. 20 are pending, but they will be available in the near future.

Don C. Smith, director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, said, "The importance of this case is well understood by all water users in Colorado. It will be an extraordinary privilege for the Sturm College of Law to host the Colorado Supreme Court for this case. Every student who is interested in natural resources law, and especially water law in Colorado, should plan to attend the oral hearing."

More details about the key issues in the case will be posted on the blog in the weeks prior to the hearing. In addition, additional information about how to attend the hearing will be forthcoming before the end of 2010.