ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20089
No(s). 22-70143 (9th Cir. Jun 5, 2023)

The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, denied a municipal irrigation district's request to compel a district court to remand to state court its motion for preliminary injunction in a suit concerning water allocation in the Klamath Basin. The district initially sought to stop the Bureau of Reclamation from releasing water from the Upper Klamath Lake in accordance with its ESA responsibilities and tribes' rights. The Bureau removed the suit to federal court on federal officer removal grounds, and the district moved to remand. The district court found the district's preliminary injunction motion sought to re-litigate federal issues—namely, the Bureau's authority to release water in compliance with the ESA and tribal rights—and thus declined to remand. The appellate court concluded the state court did not have prior exclusive jurisdiction over the rights the district sought to re-litigate, and thus that the district court did not err in declining to remand.