Montana's highest court will come to Missoula on Friday, April 22 to hear oral arguments in the case of the City of Missoula v  Mountain Water Company.

Assistant Professor at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana, Martha Williams, said having the Montana Supreme Court hear the case in Missoula highlights the benefits of living in a state with a small population.

"I think it's one of the extraordinary things about living in Montana and having such an accessible court and accessible government," Williams said. "The Montana Supreme Court will hold an oral argument in the Mountain Water case in the U.C. Ballroom on Friday, April 22."

Williams said the high court has limited the scope of the hearing.

"What the court said is that they would like the attorneys to focus their oral arguments on whether the District Court under Judge Townsend correctly applied Montana law when she issued her preliminary order allowing for the city of Missoula to condemn Mountain Water's operation," she said. "While Mountain Water and Carlyle appealed the decision on a number of issues, what the Supreme Court has said is that all we really want to hear is to explain how you think the District Court's order was in error."

Oral arguments begin at 8:30 a.m. and the public is invited to attend.

Parking will be available on the top level of the UM parking garage free of charge for those who attend.

Williams said there is no estimate of how long the court will take to issue its decision, which may be appealed to a higher court.

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