IN EQUITY A-3 : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. ORR WATER DITCH COMPANY

Filing 1105

ORDER re procedure for subsequent notice and service for parties who have returned Notices of Appearance : Persons electing to receive electronic delivery of documents requested to please return, not later than Friday, July 23, 2010 the a ttached Notice Regarding Means for Service and Registration for Electronic Delivery of Documents - Orr Water Ditch Litigation . Persons who elect to NOT received electronic delivery of documents requested to complete and return the Notice Regarding Means for Service only, not later than Friday, July 23, 2010. Signed by Judge Lloyd D. George on 7/1/2010. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DRM)

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IN EQUITY A-3 : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. ORR WATER DITCH COMPANY Doc. 1105 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 The Moving Parties now include the United States, the State of California acting by and through the California Department of Water Resources and the California State Water Resources Control Board, the State of Nevada, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, the Washoe County Water Conservation District, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and the City of Fernley, Nevada. 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. THE ORR WATER DITCH CO., et al., Defendants. Case No. 3:73-cv-00003-LDG ORDER Previously, this court required the Moving Parties1 to serve all potential owners of Orr Ditch decreed water rights with a notice of their Motion to Amend the Orr Ditch Final Decree. In conjunction with that notice, the court provided water right owners with an opportunity to appear and participate in this matter. The response of water right owners has been significant. At present, more than 900 parties have returned Notices of Appearance. Dockets.Justia.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 W hile some of these water right owners are represented by counsel, more than 800 are not. As a result, in considering the management of this matter, the Court has identified a need for an effective and efficient method for the Court, as well as the parties, to serve documents on those water right owners who are not represented by counsel. At present, a cost-effective system is already in place for the Court to serve documents on those water right owners who are represented by counsel. This existing procedure is the Court's CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Filing) system, which counsel in the District of Nevada are required to use. When the Court enters an Order, or when a party files a document, the CM/ECF system automatically creates an electronic notice of the filing and then sends that notice, by e-mail, to the parties who participate in the CM/ECF system. The notice created by the CM/ECF system includes a link to an electronic copy of the filed document. This allows those persons who receive the notice to easily and quickly retrieve an electronic copy of the filed document. The Federal Rules recognize this electronic transmission of the notice, including the link allowing retrieval of the electronic copy of the document, as an appropriate method of service. See, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 5(b)(2)(E) and 5(b)(3). Since the CM/ECF system delivers documents electronically, no costs are incurred in copying or mailing documents to those persons registered to use the CM/ECF system. At present, however, the use of the CM/ECF system is limited to lawyers representing a party. As such, service of a document upon someone who is not represented by a lawyer must be accomplished by some other appropriate means. Of those remaining means, service by mail is among the most cost-effective and is the method typically used by the Court to serve parties who are representing themselves. While the cost of copying and mailing a document is not significant when only a few parties must be served, the cumulative cost can become quite significant when numerous persons must be served. As noted previously, more than 800 water right owners have filed Notices of 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Appearance but are not represented by counsel. As a result, the postage costs to serve a document could exceed $350 any time the Court, or any party, is required to serve a person by first class mail. W hile the Court is concerned with the costs to the judiciary, of greater concern is that the cost of serving documents by mail might impede the participation of all parties to this matter, particularly those water right owners who are not represented by counsel. With this in mind, the Court has considered procedures by which water right owners may file a document in this matter without also incurring the cost of mailing a copy of that document to every other water right owner. The Court has determined that this can be appropriately accomplished by allowing all water right owners to participate as receiving users in the CM/ECF system for purposes of the Motion to Amend the Decree. This will allow the electronic delivery, to all water right owners, of all documents filed in this matter. Accordingly, the Court invites all water right owners who are not represented by counsel to register for the electronic delivery of documents from the Court's CM/ECF system for the Orr Water Ditch Litigation. For those persons electing to receive electronic delivery of documents: Please complete and return, not later than Friday, July 23, 2010, the attached Notice Regarding Means for Service, being sure to also complete the Registration for Electronic Delivery of Documents ­ Orr Water Ditch Litigation. Mail the Notice to the following address: U.S. District Court Clerk Attn: A-3 Notice Clerk Bruce R. Thompson U.S. Courthouse 400 S. Virginia St. #301 Reno, NV 89501 After you register to receive electronic delivery of documents, the Court's CM/ECF system will send you a notice, by e-mail, each time a document is filed in this matter. This 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 e-mail will be sent to you within moments after the document is filed. Further, the e-mail will include a link to an electronic copy of the filed document, allowing you to retrieve a copy of the filed document. Your participation in the CM/ECF system will be limited to the pending Motion to Amend the Orr Ditch Final Decree. That is, you will only receive delivery of electronic notices and documents that are relevant to the pending Motion to Amend. When the Motion to Amend the Orr Ditch Final Decree is finally decided, you will no longer receive notices from the CM/ECF system. The court would note that registration to participate in the CM/ECF system requires that you provide the Clerk of the Court with both a valid e-mail address and a telephone number. The e-mail address you provide will be the address to which the CM/ECF system will send electronic notices. The telephone number will be used exclusively for the purpose of allowing court employees to contact you during business hours to resolve any issues that might arise regarding the delivery of an e-mail. You may wish to create and use an e-mail address solely to receive documents from the court's CM/ECF system. For those persons who elect to NOT receive electronic delivery of documents: To assist the Court in ensuring that all water right owners continue to receive notices, the Court would ask that you complete and return the Notice Regarding Means for Service not later than Friday, July 23, 2010. You do not need to complete the Registration for Electronic Delivery portion of the form. Please mail the Notice to: U.S. District Court Clerk Attn: A-3 Notice Clerk Bruce R. Thompson U.S. Courthouse 400 S. Virginia St. #301 Reno, NV 89501 You will continue to receive notices by mail. However, in order to limit the costs of service and to promote the participation of all parties, the court will be establishing a 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 procedure to limit the number of notices and documents that will be mailed to you. Under this procedure, you will not receive a separate notice each time a document is filed. Rather, on a periodic basis, you will receive a notice identifying all recently filed documents. Of necessity, the mailed notice cannot include copies of the documents that have been filed, but will instead indicate the location where you can review copies of the filed documents. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this ______ day of July, 2010. Lloyd D. George United States District Judge 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Name: Signature: In Equity A-3: USA v. Orr Water Ditch Company N o tic e Regarding Means for Service Please indicate how you will receive service in this matter. You may select only one method. G I will register for electronic delivery of documents. G I will continue to receive service by mail. Date: Complete the following ONLY IF you are registering for electronic delivery of documents. Registration for Electronic Delivery of Documents - Orr Ditch Litigation By completing the following registration form, you are consenting to receiving the electronic delivery of documents pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure via the Court's electronic filing system. This consent is limited to documents filed relevant to the Motion to Amend or Modify the Orr Ditch Final Decree, and does NOT extend to service of a complaint and summons. This consent does include electronic notice of any order or judgment. You are also agreeing to abide by the requirements stated herein. Name: Phone number: E-mail Address: Confirm E-mail Address: The CM/ECF system follows and must be used in conjunction with the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure, the Local Rules, and any administrative orders and policies of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. G I accept the above rules and guidelines. (If you do not check this box, you will not be registered to receive electronic delivery of documents.)

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