Deltakeeper
Deltakeeper v. Oakdale Irrigation District
Opinion
Opinion
Blease, J.
Plaintiffs Deltakeeper, San Joaquin Audubon Society, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and the Sierra Club (collectively plaintiffs) appeal from an order granting a motion to dismiss the action for failure to join indispensable parties. (Code Civ. Proc., § 389, subd. (b).)
The named defendants, Oakdale Irrigation District (Oakdale), South San Joaquin Irrigation District (South San Joaquin) and Stockton East Water District (Stockton East), entered into the joint district water purchase agreement (the Agreement), together with the City of Stockton (City), Lincoln Village Maintenance District (Lincoln Village), Colonial Heights Maintenance District (Colonial Heights), and Central San Joaquin Water Conservation District (Central), for the sale of water by Oakdale and South San Joaquin to the other parties to the Agreement.
As the lead agencies, Oakdale and South San Joaquin prepared an environmental impact report (EIR) for the project, which the plaintiffs challenged by a petition for a writ of mandate. The trial court entered an order dismissing the petition for failure to join City, Lincoln Village and Colonial Heights as indispensable parties. We…