Colorado § 37-45-108 - Jurisdiction of district courts.

§ 37-45-108. Jurisdiction of district courts.

The district court sitting in and for any county in this state is hereby vested with jurisdiction when the conditions stated in section 37-45-109 are found to exist to establish water conservancy districts which may be entirely within or partly within and partly without the judicial district in which said court is located for conserving, developing, and stabilizing supplies of water for domestic, irrigation, power, manufacturing, and other beneficial uses as provided in this article; but the terms of this article shall not be construed to confer upon such district court jurisdiction to hear, adjudicate, and settle questions concerning the priority of appropriation of water between districts organized under this article and ditch companies and other owners of ditches drawing water for irrigation purposes from the same stream or its tributaries, and jurisdiction to hear and determine such questions of law and questions of right growing out of or in any way involved or connected therewith are expressly excluded from this article and shall be determined in the proper county as otherwise provided by the laws of the state of Colorado.

Source: L. 37: p. 1313, § 3. CSA: C. 173B, § 17. CRS 53: § 149-6-3. C.R.S. 1963: § 150-5-3.

ANNOTATION

This section gives a district court authority to form such districts only when the conditions stated in § 37-45-109 are found to exist. People ex rel. Dunbar v. South Platte Water Conservancy Dist., 139 Colo. 503, 343 P.2d 812 (1959).

Petitions for district formation must set forth a general description of the territory to be included in the proposed district, and where the territory actually included in a district is substantially different from the territory to be included the conditions stated in this section do not exist. In such a situation, the conditions which would give a lower court authority to form a district do not exist. People ex rel. Dunbar v. South Platte Water Conservancy Dist., 139 Colo. 503, 343 P.2d 812 (1959).

Any authority exercised by the district court following the organization and incorporation is limited to clear statutory provisions such as the filling of vacancies in the board of directors and is nongeneral in nature. Peaker v. Southeastern Colo. Water Conservancy Dist., 174 Colo. 210, 483 P.2d 232 (1971).

The general powers over the affairs of the district after incorporation are granted to the members of the board of directors by § 37-45-118, with the jurisdiction of the district court limited by this section. Peaker v. Southeastern Colo. Water Conservancy Dist., 174 Colo. 210,483 P.2d 232 (1971).