Barcellos & Wolfsen, Inc. v. Westlands Water District

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER RE: MOTION TO ENFORCE JUDGMENT

Over seventy landowners and water users (“Movants”) within “Area I” of Westlands Water District, as defined in paragraph 1.14 of the stipulated judgment entered in this case in 1986 (“Judgment”), seek enforcement of the Judgment requiring Federal Defendants to sell Westlands irrigation water.

I. Background

The following facts are undisputed: West-lands entered into a water service contract with the United States in 1963 under which the United States, through the Bureau of Reclamation, agreed to make available for Westlands’ purchase 900,000 acre-feet of water from the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project (“CVP”). Movants are third party beneficiaries of the 1968 contract. Section 4.1 of the Judgment states that Westlands and the United States “shall perform the 1963 Contract.” Section 3 allows any party to the Judgment to obtain relief from violation of the Judgment by filing a motion in this Court sixty days after written notice is provided all other parties. Sufficient notice was provided by Area I representatives.

On April 7, 1993, the Bureau announced its updated allocations of CVP water for various uses…