Subfile Order Definition: A declaration of rights as regards waterways for the interim regulation of those rights pending a final determination of those rights either by contract or judicially. In State v Parker Townsend, Justice Ransom wrote: "Subfile orders are a declaration of water rights upon which persons rely in the use and transfer of such rights for decades before a final resolution of the universal questions at issue inter se." REFERENCES: State v Parker Townsend Ranch, 887 P. 2d 1247 (Supreme Court of New Mexico, 1994) Categories & Topics: Real Estate and Tenancy Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!