The court of appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded a district court judgment. The court held that the sale of water rights prior to their abandonment by their original owner, followed by a speedy assertion of rights by the new owner, defeated an allegation of intent to abandon.
The Nevada State Engineer issued an order approving the transfer of water rights from the parcels to which they were appurtenant to new parcels. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians challenged that order, asserting that the rights could not be transferred because they had already been abandoned or forfeited within the meaning of the law of the State of Nevada.
