MacGregor

The judgment in this action declares that the plaintiff Malibu Water Company is the owner of all water under any portion of defendants’ property and enjoins defendants forever from maintaining any well on the premises or extracting any water. Defendants have appealed from the judgment.

Both the water company and defendants base their claim upon a conveyance from a common predecessor, the plaintiff Marblehead Land Company. In 1943 Marblehead granted a tract of land in Malibu Canyon to Joseph Shalhoub. This deed excepted “All water on or under said lands and every part thereof and all riparian rights to said waters.” The deed further provided:

Subsequently, defendants acquired 2% acres of the property described in the Shalhoub deed. It was stipulated in the pretrial statement that defendants are the successors in interest to Shalhoub as to this property. This 2% acres will be referred to as the Shalhoub parcel. Defendants also obtained from a man named Archer an adjacent 2% acres on which they built a home. In the spring of 1960 defendants requested the plaintiff water company to furnish water for agricultural purposes and service was begun on July 13. On July 29 the water company…