Title
Rules and Forms | Comprehensive Adjudications of Groundwater Rights (Action Required)
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Summary
The Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee recommends amending the rule of court that designates certain case types as provisionally complex to include comprehensive groundwater adjudications. This change conforms the rule to Code of Civil Procedure section 838. The committee also recommends adopting a rule specifying the procedure by which the presiding judge of the court in a county overlying the groundwater basin at issue requests that the Chair of the Judicial Council assign a judge to adjudicate the dispute.
Recommendation
The Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee recommends that the Judicial Council, effective January 1, 2026, adopt California Rules of Court, rule 3.404 and amend rule 3.400, related to comprehensive groundwater adjudications.