City of Los Angeles v. City of San Fernando

[14 Cal3d Page 207] The City of Los Angeles filed this action on September 30, 1955, (1) to quiet its title and obtain a declaration of its prior rights to the water underlying the Upper Los Angeles River Area (hereafter referred to as ""ULARA""), and (2) to enjoin the defendants from extracting such water other than in subordination to the plaintiff's prior rights. Numerous defendants were eliminated from the case before trial by dismissal, disclaimer, default, or stipulated judgment, and are not [14 Cal3d Page 208] parties to this appeal. The remaining defendants now before us are the Cities of San Fernando, Glendale, and Burbank, the Crescenta Valley County Water District, and several private parties whose water claims are all smaller than those of the defendant cities and water district.1 After a nonjury trial between plaintiff and these defendants, judgment was entered on March 15, 1968, denying plaintiff's claims, awarding prescriptive rights to plaintiff and defendants, and imposing continuous restrictions on the parties' extractions of water commensurate with the available supply. Plaintiff appeals from this judgment and from a judgment entered the same date in favor of the State Water Resources Control Board for its expenses as referee.