North Dakota Code 61-02-23 – Actions to acquire property rights
The commission shall have full power and authority:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 61-02-23
- Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
1. To institute, maintain, and prosecute to final determination in any of the courts of this or any other state, or in any of the federal courts, any and all actions, suits, and special proceedings that may be necessary:
a. To enable it to acquire, own, and develop lands for irrigation and water conservation, water distribution, and other necessary purposes. The commission may sell such lands upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe and may own and hold title to lands for damsites, reservoir sites, water rights, easements, and rights of way for diversion and distributing systems, lateral ditches, and other means for the distribution of waters in this state, and for any other necessary purposes.
b. To adjudicate all water rights upon any stream, watercourse, or source of water supply from which are derived the waters for such reservoir, diversion and distributing systems, lateral ditches, and other means of distribution.
2. To join in any action any and all owners of vested water rights acquired by any person, association, corporation, or limited liability company, so that adjudication may be had of all surplus water upon all of the watercourses and sources, water supplies or any project constructed under the supervision and control of the commission.
3. To join all persons interested as parties in all actions or condemnation proceedings affecting the title of, or holding liens upon, the property sought to be acquired as disclosed by the public records, and the court in such actions or special proceedings shall implead all parties necessary for a full and final determination of all issues upon their merits for the partition and distribution of damages awarded. In the event of controversy between such parties, the court may direct the amount of damages awarded to be paid in or deposited with the clerk of court to abide the result of further appropriate proceedings either in law or in equity. The taking possession of property sought to be condemned shall not be delayed by reason of any dispute between rival claimants or the failure to join any of them as parties to such action or condemnation proceedings.