Provident Land Corp. v. Provident Irrigation District

PLUMMER, J. This action was begun by the plaintiff for the purpose of enjoining the district-defendant from entering [106]into a proposed lease with one A. E. Moutrey, pursuant to a resolution passed by the board of directors of said district, on or about the 5th day of August, 1936. A temporary restraining order was issued, and upon the hearing of cause, the court dissolved the temporary restraining order and sustained the defendants’ demurrer to the amended and supplemental complaints filed by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff sought to enjoin the district and its officers from selling or leasing .any land within the district except upon open and free selling and leasing of the same. The respondents’ general and special demurrers were sustained without leave to amend. Prom the judgment of dismissal, after sustaining the general and special demurrers aforesaid, the plaintiff appeals.

Section 29 of the California Irrigation District Laws was amended in 1935 (General Laws 1935, page 1135), by adding thereto the following words: “The Board of Directors of said District is hereby authorized and empowered on behalf of the District to hold, use, acquire, manage, occupy, possess, sell or lease said property, as herein provided. ’ ’ The section was further amended, but what we have quoted is all that is pertinent to this ease.

It appears from the complaint that several thousand acres of land belonging to the district are leased by the board of directors for the purposes of rice culture. The complaint sets forth that the leases were made without publication, and without notice to the appellant. Section 29, supra, does not set forth any procedure concerning the leasing of lands belonging to an irrigation district. It simply authorizes, and empowers the board of directors of the district to execute leases of lands which have come into the possession or control of the district.

While a number of objections to the amended and supplemental complaint have been interposed by the defendants in the demurrers filed in this cause, it seems unnecessary to consider the specific grounds of demurrer in detail. Both the amended and supplemental complaints contain general allegations only. Such a pleading, in asking for injunctive relief, is almost universally held insufficient.

In 14 California Jurisprudence, page 260, section 66, it is said: “A complaint asking injunctive relief should, of course, contain a statement of facts sufficient to warrant the issuance