Opening statements began this month in a Las Vegas courtroom in a first-of-its-kind trial that could reshape how Nevada regulates its water and how much the state pays when it does.
The case pits Coyote Springs Investment LLC, owned by California developers Albert and Thomas Seeno, against the State of Nevada. The developers argue that the Nevada state engineer's decisions blocking their long-planned Southern Nevada community amount to a taking of their water rights under the Constitution, and they are seeking at least $1.5 billion in damages, plus interest and attorneys' fees.
Hutchison & Steffen founding partner Mark A. Hutchison represents the developers. In his opening statement, he told Clark County District Judge Mark Denton that internal state emails uncovered in discovery show regulators never intended to evaluate the developers' subdivision maps in good faith, as a prior legal settlement required.
"Judge, what happened here is just wrong. It hits you in the gut," Hutchison told the court, according to reporting by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "At the end of this evidence, we're going to ask the court to right this wrong."
The state's position, delivered by private attorney Jeffrey Sylvester, is that the state engineer acted lawfully and in the public interest. Sylvester argued that the science on groundwater impacts in the region dates back to the 1960s and was reaffirmed by a 2024 Nevada Supreme Court decision upholding the state engineer's authority to manage seven interconnected groundwater basins as a single source. A ruling for the developers, he said, "would set Nevada water law on its ear."
The trial is proceeding in two phases. The first is a bench trial before Judge Denton and is expected to run several months. If the developers establish liability, a jury will then be asked to decide damages in a second phase. Judge Denton visited the Coyote Springs site last week for a closed tour, and the witness list includes original developer Harvey Whittemore, Albert Seeno, past state engineers, and Colby Pellegrino, deputy general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
The stakes reach well beyond Coyote Springs. Nevada water law is built on the doctrine of prior appropriation, in which rights are ranked by seniority and junior rights holders are cut off first when supply tightens. A finding that a state engineer decision can trigger a compensable taking could open the door for any Nevada water user in a similar position to bring the same argument.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Nevada businesses and property owners with questions about water rights or takings claims can contact Hutchison & Steffen at 702.385.2500.