After nearly a month-long trial, Churchwell White secures a favorable jury verdict in a water rights challenge, establishing a prescriptive right to pump groundwater for a municipal client.

“A jury trial to determine whose groundwater rights should win out in a 5-year-old clash between public water purveyors and private landowners near Paso Robles approached a conclusion in Santa Clara County Superior Court the week of Sept. 20.

In 2013, a small group of North County property owners, led by vintner Cindy Steinbeck, filed a quiet title water rights lawsuit in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, amid anxiety about the drought, its impact on the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, and the regulations set to curb water pumping.

The suit named the city of Paso Robles, SLO County, San Miguel CSD, Templeton CSD, and Atascadero Mutual Water Company as defendants—water purveyors allegedly encroaching on their water rights …”

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Source: New Times San Luis Obispo