Souza

By statute, a California water district may add unpaid water charges to its regular assessment against land served by the district. The assessment automatically constitutes a lien on the land, and this is true whether the water was used by the owner or a tenant. This case presents an issue of first impression: Where the water is used by a tenant, does a district forfeit its right to add the charges to the assessment and encumber the land because, had the district followed its own regulations, the tenant would have been required to post adequate security for all the charges in advance or the water would have been turned off? Specifically, does the district lose the statutory rights just described if, pursuant to its regulations, it demands a guaranty before continuing to supply water to a tenant with a history of delinquencies, but then, contrary to its regulations, supplies more water than the guaranty can cover and the tenant again defaults? The trial court’s judgment against Westlands Water District answered this question in the affirmative, effectively converting the district’s regulations on delinquent customers from a shield for the district to a sword for delinquent…