Westlands Water District v. United States

The plaintiffs Westlands Water District and the San Benito Water District (Districts) sued the federal defendants alleging that in allocating water in the Central Valley Project in California the United States Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) violated the Districts’ contract rights. Before trial, the Districts moved to voluntarily dismiss the action without prejudice. The defendants then moved for summary judgment. The district court denied the Districts’ voluntary dismissal motion and granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The Districts appeal.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse the district court’s denial of the Districts’ motion for voluntary dismissal, vacate the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the defendants, and remand to the district court with instructions to enter an order dismissing the action without prejudice. We also direct the district court to consider whether costs and attorney fees should be imposed as a condition of dismissal, and if so, in what amount.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

This case arises out of the Districts’ challenge to the Bureau’s allocation of water for water-year 1994.

The…