City of Pomona v. Superior Court

Introduction

The City of Pomona (City) and qui tam plaintiff Nora Aumenta (Armenia) petition for a writ of mandate commanding the trial court to reinstate the City’s first cause of action, which alleges the violation of the California False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.) by real parties in interest James Jones Company, Mueller Co., Tyco International (US), Inc. and Watts Industries, Inc. We grant the writ petition.

Statement of Facts

James Jones Company and its parent companies, Mueller Co., Tyco International (US), Inc., and Watts Industries, Inc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as Jones), manufacture and supply pipes and other water distribution parts that are sold directly to municipalities for carrying drinking water or to contractors for eventual use in municipal water systems. Jones represented in its catalogues and sales literature that all of its pipes, valves, fittings, stops and ball valves comply with American Water Works Association (AWWA) standards. AWWA Standard C-800-89 requires all material that comes into contact with potable water to contain 85 percent copper and 5 percent each of tin, lead and zinc (85 metal). The permissible variance…