City of Hanford v. Superior Court

Statement of the Case

Petitioners City of Hanford, Hanford City Council, Hanford Planning and Building Departments, Hanford City Planning Director James Beath and the individual city council members (City or Petitioners) seek a writ of prohibition or mandamus directing respondent Kings County Superior Court to vacate (1) its order granting real party in interest GWF Power Systems Company, Inc. (GWF), leave to file a cross-complaint and all temporary restraining orders (TRO) issued pursuant to the cross-complaint and (2) its order denying Petitioners’ motion to disqualify Judge Julius Leetham pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 from hearing the cross-complaint or an identical separate lawsuit.

The issues are: (1) whether a party can file a cross-complaint after judgment has been entered on the underlying complaint but before the case is finally determined on appeal, and (2) whether GWF’s suit was merely a continuation of an earlier action challenging the cogeneration power project such that Petitioners’ section 170.6 motion was untimely.

We conclude a peremptory writ of mandate should issue. The trial court abused its discretion in permitting the…