Butte T. M. Co. v. Morgan

Citations

• 19 Cal. 609

Syllabus

<p>A person appropriating and diverting the water of a stream at a given point, cannot afterwards change the point of diversion to the prejudice of a subsequent locator.</p> <p>Kidd v. Laird (15 Cal. 161) does not hold that the first appropriator has an absolute and unqualified right to change the point of diversion, and the doctrine of that case is affirmed.</p> <p>Where a party attempts to construct a dam on a creek, for the purpose of diverting the water at that point, and such diversion is illegal as against another party, who has a dam lower down, the latter may oust the former from the possession of the ground at that point, and prevent the construction of the dam.</p>