Minch Family LLLP v. Buffalo-Red River Watershed

Dec 15: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Case No. 09-3223. According to the Appeals Court, 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 later sued BRRWD in federal court under contending BRRWD exceeded the scope of the clean-out order by entering upon Minch's property. Minch alleged causes of action for trespass, nuisance, and the wrongful death of A. R. Minch. The district court granted appellees' motion for judgment on the pleadings' finding Minch's claims were: (1) barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; (2) res judicata; and (3) insufficient to state causes of action as pled. The Appeals Court affirmed the district court ruling.

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