Central & West Basin Water Replenishment District v. Wong

Opinion

THE COURT.

Petitioners seek a writ of prohibition to prevent the Honorable Delbert E. Wong, Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, from presiding at the trial in the case of David Daar, et al. v. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, et al., on the ground that he is disqualified under Code of Civil Procedure section 170, subdivision 1, because he has a non waivable interest in the proceeding.

The underlying suit is a class action on behalf of all persons within the Metropolitan Water District who are property taxpayers or who receive water supplied by the MWD at the rate charged for “domestic and municipal” purposes. The suit alleges that the district sells water to other users (including apparently the intervener Water Replenishment Districts), at a lower “groundwater replenishment” rate, some of which water is in fact used for domestic and municipal purposes. The plaintiff seeks a decree compelling the MWD to charge these other users the “domestic and municipal” rate for all water which is actually put to such use by them.

The suit further alleges that such a decree will result in increased revenues to the MWD, which in turn may result in reduced property

[194]

taxes and/or lower domestic and municipal water rates. Approximately 10.5 million persons in 6 counties are supplied directly or indirectly with MWD water. The outcome of this litigation may, of course, affect each of them.

Judge Wong owns and resides in a home located within MWD in Los Angeles, has paid and will pay real property taxes to MWD and pays for and utilizes water supplied by the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles, which in turn purchases a portion of its water supply from MWD at the domestic and municipal rate. The parties here stipulated to the assignment of Judge Wong to the case and have expressed willingness to waive any waivable disqualification.

This petition resulted from doubts by the parties and the judge as to whether the judge’s “interest” as a taxpayer and ratepayer could be waived. The petition was originally filed in the Supreme Court, which transferred it to the Court of Appeal for the Second District. It was then retransferred to this court when it became apparent that all or most of the justices of the Second and Fourth Appellate Districts had similar interests as taxpayers or ratepayers of MWD water.