Western Water v. Western Aggregates CA3

BACKGROUND

Western Water and Aggregates entered into a contract to sell a specified amount of groundwater to Agency. The May 1991 contract was entitled Yuba Goldfields Water and Easement Agreement. It provided that Agency would pay Western Water and Aggregates for the use of all surface water and a specified amount of groundwater as part of a water delivery system designed to convey water from and across an area in Yuba County called the Goldfields. In October 2009, Western Water filed a complaint against Agency alleging it had withdrawn additional groundwater without paying for it. Although Aggregates was entitled to one-half of any sum payable by Agency, Aggregates declined to be named as a plaintiff but was identified as “Real Party in Interest.” In March 2010, Aggregates made a special appearance to state that it was an unwilling party to the litigation. Aggregates and Agency entered into a joint defense and tolling agreement at about the time the complaint was filed; Western Water first learned about the agreement during a June 2011 deposition. That same month, after a motion to compel discovery responses from Aggregates, Western Water amended its complaint to name…