Free Motion for Leave to File - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:01-cv-00591-FMA

Document 273

Filed 04/03/2006

Page 1 of 2

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS __________________________________________ ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) ) Defendant, ) ) PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF ) FISHERMEN'S ASSOCIATIONS, ) ) Defendant-Intervenor ) __________________________________________) KLAMATH IRRIGATION DISTRICT, et al.,

No. 01-591 L

Judge Francis M. Allegra

AMICUS NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL'S NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY Amicus Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. ("NRDC") respectfully requests the Court to grant NRDC leave to file a copy of the decision issued by the California Court of Appeals on March 28, 2006, in Allegretti & Company v. County of Imperial, 2006 WL 773036 (Cal.App. 4 Dist.). In this decision the Court rejected the reasoning in Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage Dist. V. United States, 49 Fed. Cl. 313 (2001) that a contract for the delivery of water creates an absolute entitlement to water. See Allegretti & Company, 2006 WL 773036 at 6-7. The Allegretti Court instead found the reasoning of the court in Klamath Irrigation District v. United States, 67 Fed. Cl. 504 (2005) persuasive. Id. Specifically, the Allegretti Court agreed that defining the scope of a water user's contractual water right requires consideration of "whether the contracts were limited in the event of water shortages by prior contracts, prior appropriations or other state law principles" and "whether the plaintiffs' claimed use of water violated state doctrines including those designed to protect fish and wildlife." Allegretti & Company, 2006 WL 773036 at 6. This recently issued decision may be of assistance to the Court in reaching its decision in this case. -1-

Case 1:01-cv-00591-FMA

Document 273

Filed 04/03/2006

Page 2 of 2

For these reasons, NRDC respectfully requests the Court to grant leave to file this supplementary authority.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/John D. Echeverria John D. Echeverria Sanju Misra Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute Georgetown University Law Center 600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 662-9850 Hamilton Candee Natural Resources Defense Council 111 Sutter Street, 20th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 (415) 777-0220 Counsel for Amicus Curiae NRDC

April 3, 2006

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