Cal Sierra Dev., Inc. v. George Reed, Inc.

*667 This case arose from competing claims to a portion of the Yuba Goldfields. At issue is whether an arbitration award resolving a dispute between plaintiff Cal Sierra Development, Inc. (Cal Sierra), and Western Aggregates, Inc., serves as res judicata to bar Cal Sierra's lawsuit against Western Aggregates' licensee George Reed, Inc., and the licensee's parent Basic Resources, Inc. We conclude the answer is yes.

*668 Plaintiff Cal Sierra's predecessor and Western Aggregates entered into a Mutual Operations Agreement (MOA) for the Yuba Goldfields. (In this context, an MOA is a mechanism to allow two mining companies to operate on the same property.) Pursuant to the MOA and accompanying deeds, Cal Sierra had the superior right to mine for precious metals, subject to certain exceptions; Western Aggregates had the subordinate right to the surface estate. Western Aggregates entered into a license agreement with George Reed, Inc. (Reed), permitting Reed to locate a mobile asphalt plant on the portion of the Yuba Goldfields known as the Deep Reserve. A dispute arose when Cal Sierra's gold mining dredge was on course to collide with the asphalt plant. Cal Sierra altered the dredge…