Hanson Bridgett Secures Appellate Victory in Landmark Ventura County Groundwater Adjudication
Hanson Bridgett attorneys successfully defended a favorable trial court judgment in a significant groundwater rights adjudication involving Ventura County’s Las Posas Valley Groundwater Basin. The California Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment in full, resolving challenges to the final judgment brought by several parties.
The case was the first comprehensive groundwater adjudication filed under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), addressing competing claims to groundwater rights within the Basin. The litigation involved two trials over a multi-phase process that determined the Basin’s safe yield and operating yield; allocated water rights; and determined a court-approved physical solution for managing the Basin. Throughout those phases, the trial court ensured its adjudication was consistent with the Basin’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
Hanson Bridgett represented Ventura County Waterworks District Nos. 1 and 19, which played a leading role in litigation as they collectively held the largest share of water rights in the Basin. Partners Michael Van Zandt and Sean Herman tried the case in the trial court, where the team obtained a favorable judgment for their clients. Herman later argued the appeal before the Court of Appeal. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, rejecting numerous challenges and confirming the trial court’s allocation framework and management structure for the basin.
The appellate decision confirms that courts may implement comprehensive solutions in groundwater adjudications that fit with groundwater sustainability plans developed under SGMA. The streamlined adjudication balanced competing water rights while advancing the state’s constitutional mandate for reasonable and beneficial use of water resources.
The Hanson Bridgett team also included Nathan Metcalf, Spencer Ferguson, Kimberly Sutton, and Delores McCullum.
This appellate victory reinforces the firm’s experience advising clients in complex water rights litigation and in matters involving SGMA compliance and groundwater basin management.
