The Minch Family LLLP v. Buffalo-Red River Watershed Dist., No. 09-3223

Judgment Allowing Watershed District Access to Private Property Affirmed

In The Minch Family LLLP v. Buffalo-Red River Watershed Dist., No. 09-3223, an action claiming that the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District (BRRWD) exceeded the scope of a judge's order authorizing the BRRWD to "clean out" or remove accumulated silt and topsoil from a ditch running next to a road along the length of one of plaintiffs' fields, the court affirmed judgment on the pleadings for defendants where the plain meaning and clear import of the state court's order was to allow BRRWD access to not only plaintiffs' ditch, but also to the surrounding area necessary to conduct the clean-out.

As the court wrote:  "During contentious litigation in Minnesota state court, a judge entered an order authorizing the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District (BRRWD) to "clean out" or remove accumulated silt and topsoil from a ditch running next to a road along the length of one of A.R. Minch's fields. The Minch Family LLLP, Lois A. Minch and trustee Roger J. Minch2 (collectively, Minch) later sued BRRWD, Roger Ellefson, Curtis Nelson, Gerald L. VanAmburg, John E. Hanson, and E. Robert Olson (collectively, appellees) in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, contending BRRWD exceeded the scope of the clean-out order by entering upon Minch's property."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in The Minch Family LLLP v. Buffalo-Red River Watershed Dist., No. 09-3223