Abatti v. Imperial Irrigation District

Holding

The court held that farmers in the Imperial Irrigation District possess an equitable and beneficial interest in the District’s water rights that is appurtenant to their land and limited to a right of water **service**, not a fixed, historical quantity; consequently, the District may exercise broad discretion in allocating water among all user categories so long as it complies with the statutory duty to distribute water “equitably” and observes the reasonable‑use limitation. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s finding that the District abused its discretion in **prioritizing non‑agricultural users over farmers** under the 2013 Equitable Distribution Plan (EDP), affirmed the dismissal of the breach‑of‑fiduciary‑duty and taking claims, reversed the trial court’s broader abuse‑of‑discretion rulings and its declaratory‑judgment injunction, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with these conclusions. ---