Guillermo Gallego Munoz v. County of Imperial

1. BACKGROUND

Defendant McDougal owns land in the County of Imperial (“County”). With the land, McDougal acquired a conditional use permit which allowed him to sell water on condition that it be sold only for use within the county. McDougal’s neighbors complained to the county about water trucks leaving his property, and the county sued in superior court to enforce the prohibition in the conditional use permit against selling water outside the county.

The superior court enjoined McDougal from conducting his trucking operation. The California Court of Appeal held that the condition barring export of .water in McDougal’s use permit violated the Commerce Clause and that the use permit that allowed McDougal to remove water was void. McDougal appealed to the California Supreme Court, which held that McDougal was subject to the conditions in the permit, and that McDougal, by accepting the benefits of the permit, was estopped from challenging its constitutionality. County of Imperial v. McDougal, 19 Cal.3d 505, 511 , 138 Cal.Rptr. 472 , 564 P.2d 14, 18 (1977). An appeal to the Supreme Court was dismissed for want of a substantial federal question. McDougal v. County of Imperial, 434…