Westland Water Dist. v. U.S.

• Citation: 153 F.Supp.2d 1133
• Decision Date: 26 June 2001
• Docket Number: No. CVF945217 OWWDLB.,CVF945217 OWWDLB.
• Parties: WESTLANDS WATER DISTRICT and San Benito County Water District, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES of America, Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation; Kirk C. Rodgers, Acting Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region, United States of America, Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation; Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of Interior; Defendants. San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority; Friant Power Authority, Defendants-in-Intervention. Friant Water Users Authority; Orange Cove Irrigation District; Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District; and Terra Bella Irrigation District; Chowchilla Water District; Madera Irrigation District Defendants-in-Intervention.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California

153 F.Supp.2d 1133

WESTLANDS WATER DISTRICT and San Benito County Water District, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES of America, Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation; Kirk C. Rodgers, Acting Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region, United States of America, Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation; Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of Interior; Defendants.

San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority; Friant Power Authority, Defendants-in-Intervention.

Friant Water Users Authority; Orange Cove Irrigation District; Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District; and Terra Bella Irrigation District; Chowchilla Water District; Madera Irrigation District Defendants-in-Intervention.

No. CVF945217 OWWDLB.

United States District Court, E.D. California.

June 26, 2001.

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Daniel J O'Hanlon, Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann and Girard, Sacramento, CA, for Westlands Water Dist.

William Thomas Chisum, Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann and Girard, Sacramento, CA, for San Benito County Water Dist.

Maria A. Iizuka, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Env. and Natural Resources Div., Sacramento, CA, for U.S., Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Bruce Babbitt, Gale Norton.

Michael Victor Sexton, Minasian Spruance Baber Meith Soares and Sexton, Oroville, CA, for San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, Friant Power Authority.

Gregory K Wilkinson, Best Best and Krieger, Riverside CA, for Friant Water Users Authority.

Benslow B Green, Green Green and Rigby, Madera, CA, for Chowchilla Water Dist., Madera Irrigation.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

WANGER, District Judge.

Before the court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, which seek to determine the relative rights to water from a federal reclamation project, under three separate contracts with the United States, executed: (1) with plaintiff Westlands Water District ("Westlands") in 1963 ("1963 Contract"); (2) with plaintiff San Benito County Water District ("San Benito") in 1978 ("1978 Contract"); and (3) with defendants-in-intervention San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority and Friant Power Authority ("Exchange Contractors") in 1939, and amended in 1967 ("Exchange Contract"). See Doc. 243 (Exchange Contractors); Doc. 248 (defendants-in-intervention Friant water-users);¹ Doc 255 (plaintiffs); Doc. 259 (federal defendants). Oral argument was held, see Doc. 291, and all issues have been fully briefed and considered.

INTRODUCTION

The Central Valley Project ("CVP") delivers water throughout the Central Valley of California that helps make it the most agriculturally-productive region in the world. It is the nation's largest federal reclamation project, with nine separate divisions. This dispute centers on CVP water delivered through the San Luis Unit, a subset unit within the West San Joaquin Division of the CVP. Westlands and San Benito (collectively "plaintiffs") contract for water service with the United States. Westlands has a 1963 water-service contract with the United States and San Benito has a 1978 water-service contract with the United States. Both are to be supplied water from the San Luis Unit, although San Benito is in a different division, the San Felipe.

This case arises from the United States Bureau of Reclamation's ("Bureau") mid-February 1994 announcement of CVP water allocations for the 1994-1995 water year ("WY94") (March 1, 1994, to February 28, 1995). See Doc. 1 ex. C at 1. Because a water shortage was forecasted, the Bureau reduced most CVP contractors' contractual water allocations. Plaintiffs were allocated thirty-five percent (35%) of their contracted water supply. Others who receive water from the CVP did not suffer similar reductions. The Exchange Contractors' 1939 agreement with the United States is for substitute water. They receive water from the San Luis Unit. In WY94, they were allocated seventy-five percent (75%) of their contracted water supply.² See id. The Bureau justified the disparity in percentage water allocations based on its interpretation of the parties' contracts. See id. ("Agricultural contractor's forecasted amounts are less than others due to contract provisions which allow for larger reductions.").

Plaintiffs claim their contracts do not permit them to be subject to larger reductions in their CVP water allocations over any others who receive CVP water. See Doc. 1 at ¶ 16. They further suggest that in times of water shortage, the Bureau must allocate all CVP water supplies on a pro-rata basis among "all CVP contractors," including the Exchange Contractors. See Doc. 256 at 2:10-15. Alternatively, in times of shortage, they say at least all San Luis Unit water should be apportioned on a pro-rata basis among any who receive such water, including the Exchange Contractors. In either event, the Exchange Contractors' contractual water supply from the CVP would be reduced to the same quantity plaintiffs receive, e.g., thirty-five percent (35%) of the annual allotment.

The federal defendants and all intervenors oppose these contract interpretations. Each party seeks summary judgment on interpretation of plaintiffs' and the Exchange Contractors' relative rights to San Luis Unit water.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

"Summary judgment `shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.'" 7-Up Bottling Co. of Jasper Inc. v. Varni Bros. Corp. (In re Citric Acid Litig.), 191 F.3d 1090, 1093 (9th Cir.1999) (quoting FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c) and citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). A genuine issue of fact exists when the non-moving party produces evidence on which a reasonable trier of fact could find in its favor, viewing the record as a whole in light of the evidentiary burden the law places on that party. See Triton Energy Corp. v. Square D Co., 68 F.3d 1216, 1221 (9th Cir.1995) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252-56, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)) ("The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the non-moving party's position is not sufficient."). The non-moving party cannot simply rest on its allegation(s) without any significant probative evidence that supports the complaint. See U.A. Local 343 v. Nor-Cal Plumbing, Inc., 48 F.3d 1465, 1471 (9th Cir.1994) ("As the Supreme Court has explained, `[i]f the evidence is merely colorable or is not significantly probative summary judgment may be granted.'") (citing Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505).

[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be "no genuine issue as to any material fact," since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

The more implausible the claim or defense asserted by the opposing party, the more persuasive its evidence must be to avoid summary judgment. See United States ex rel. Anderson v. N. Telecom, Inc., 52 F.3d 810, 815 (9th Cir.1995); see also Van Westrienen v. Americontinental Collection Corp., 94 F.Supp.2d 1087, 1094 (D.Or.2000) ("when the non-moving party's claims are factually implausible, that party must come forward with more persuasive evidence than would otherwise be required.") (citing Cal. Architectural Bldg. Prods., Inc. v. Franciscan Ceramics Inc., 818 F.2d 1466, 1470 (9th Cir.1987)). Nevertheless, "the evidence of the non-movant is to be believed and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in its favor." Murphy Exploration & Prod. Co. v. Oryx Energy Co., 101 F.3d 670, 673 (Fed.Cir.1996) (quoting Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). At the summary judgment stage, a court may not weigh the evidence, i.e., issue resolution, but rather simply searches for genuine factual issues. See Abdul-Jabbar v. Gen. Motors Corp., 85 F.3d 407, 410 (9th Cir.1996).³

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs filed this case March 4, 1994, to enjoin the Bureau's WY94 allocation of CVP water and to obtain "a declaration that the Bureau may not satisfy its obligations to the Exchange Contractors by providing preferential allocations to the Exchange Contractors over the allocations received by Westlands and San Benito." Doc. 1 at 11:27-12:2 (complaint).

Between March 18, and March 23, 1994, the Exchange Contractors, see Doc. 13, the Friant Power Authority ("FPA"),⁴ see Doc. 14, Friant water-users,⁵ see Doc. 16, and two irrigation districts, Madera Irrigation District and Chowchilla Water District, see Doc. 17, intervened. These intervenors receive water from different CVP areas.⁶ All will be adversely impacted if plaintiffs prevail, and the Exchange Contractors are forced to exercise their pre-CVP rights to that water.

Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction (Doc. 3) was denied. See Westlands Water Dist. v. Patterson, 864 F.Supp. 1536, 1551-52 (E.D.Cal.1994) ("Westlands III"). On December 23, 1994, plaintiffs moved to voluntarily dismiss this complaint without prejudice. See Doc. 93. On January 9, 1995, the federal defendants, Friant water-user intervenors, and the Exchange Contractors moved for summary judgment. See Doc. 99; Doc. 102; Doc. 110. On August 9, 1995, the motion for voluntary dismissal was denied and the motions for...