Kelley v. Carlsbad Irrigation District’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “When an artificial or natural flow of surface water, through percolation, seepage or otherwise, reaches an underground reservoir and thereby loses its identity as surface water, such waters become public under the provisions of § 75-11-1, N.M. S.A., 1953 Comp., and are subject to appropriation in accordance with applicable statutes. It follows that one having a water right in a surface flow, which has thus been lost to the underground reservoir, can neither transfer his surface right nor change his point of diversion to the underground reservoir.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Brantley v. Carlsbad Irrigation District

2. “The water sought to be used from the well in this instance is not underground water which, if not intercepted, would reach and become a part of a natural stream, either on or beneath the surface, and which is thus governed and controlled by the constitution and statutes relative to appropriation and diversion of surface waters, as'in Templeton v. Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy Dist., 65 N.M. 59 , 332 P.2d 465 ; Public Service Company v. Reynolds, 68 N.M. 54 , 358 P.2d 621 [ (1960) ]; and Clod-fetter v. Reynolds, 68 N.M. 61 , 358 P.2d 626 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Herrington v. State Ex Rel. Office of the State Engineer