Riverside Mining Limited v. Quality Aggregates
Opinion
Opinion
FACTS
Riverside Mining owns a property of more than 150 acres in Jurupa Valley. In
2017, Quality leased about 73 acres that the parties call the Pyrite Quarry. The lease
agreement includes a provision shifting attorney fees to the prevailing party in any
“action . . . , either at law or in equity, to enforce or interpret the terms” of the agreement.
According to Quality, by 2020, Riverside Mining began infringing on its leasehold
in various ways. In 2021, Quality sued Riverside Mining, alleging breach of contract,
trespass, and quiet title claims. (Riv. Sup. Ct. Case No. CVRI 2102802) In August 2022,
Riverside Mining filed an unlawful detainer action, seeking to evict Quality from the
Pyrite Quarry for various alleged breaches of the lease agreement. This appeal concerns
the unlawful detainer lawsuit.
Near the outset of the unlawful detainer lawsuit, the parties filed a stipulation that
could help preserve the funds at issue during the litigation. They stipulated under
sections 572 and 1170.5 that Quality would deposit with the court amounts “otherwise
payable to” Riverside Mining “as monthly rental payments” under the lease agreement.