Actions Relating to Groundwater RightsJudge

Section § 838

Explanation

This law is about how lawsuits concerning California's groundwater basins are handled in court. If a lawsuit deals with a specific groundwater basin, the local judge can't preside over it. Instead, a different judge will be appointed to ensure impartiality. The court can decide if a lawsuit is a comprehensive adjudication - meaning it deals with complex water rights issues. These cases get priority and are treated as complex actions. Other rules may not apply, and if there's a related lawsuit about groundwater management plans, it might be combined with the adjudication case. The specially appointed judge decides if combining the cases is the right call.

(a)Copy CA Civil Procedure Code § 838(a)
(1)Copy CA Civil Procedure Code § 838(a)(1) In a comprehensive adjudication conducted pursuant to this chapter, a judge of a superior court of a county that overlies the basin or any portion of the basin shall be disqualified. The Chairperson of the Judicial Council shall assign a judge to preside in all proceedings in the comprehensive adjudication.
(2)CA Civil Procedure Code § 838(a)(2) A judge of the superior court in which an action is filed may, on the court’s own motion or the motion of a party, determine if the action is a comprehensive adjudication under Section 833. A motion for a determination pursuant to this paragraph shall receive calendar preference within the action and shall be resolved before other procedural or dispositive motions.
(b)CA Civil Procedure Code § 838(b) A comprehensive adjudication is presumed to be a complex action under Rule 3.400 of the California Rules of Court.
(c)CA Civil Procedure Code § 838(c) Sections 170.6 and 394 shall not apply in a comprehensive adjudication.
(d)CA Civil Procedure Code § 838(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 10726.6 of the Water Code, an action against a groundwater sustainability agency that is located in a basin that is being adjudicated pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to transfer, coordination, and consolidation with the comprehensive adjudication, as appropriate, if the action concerns the adoption, substance, or implementation of a groundwater sustainability plan, or the groundwater sustainability agency’s compliance with the timelines in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
(e)CA Civil Procedure Code § 838(e) The judge assigned by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council pursuant to subdivision (a) shall determine if transfer, coordination, or consolidation is appropriate.
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