RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

June 2004

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Partial  Statement of Decision  Issued in Santa  Maria Valley Groundwater Litigation
Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District, et al. v. City of Santa Maria, et al.

On May 5, 2004, the Santa Clara County Superior Court issued a partial statement of decision for Phase III of the Santa Maria Valley groundwater litigation. After hearing weeks of highly technical testimony during the phase III trial, Judge Jack Komar found that the Santa Maria Valley Groundwater Basin is not presently and has not historically been in a state of hydrologic overdraft. Judge Komar’s conclusion disposed of the defendants’ prescriptive right claims based on a condition of overdraft.