Eminent Domain Report

When water agencies provide water to customers, and that water causes damage to customer property, can water agencies face inverse condemnation liability? For quite some time, inverse condemnation liability appeared to be unavailable based on the theory that the customer “invited” the water onto private property by voluntarily connecting to the public water system. However, a recent court of appeal decision, Shehyn v. Ventura County Pub. Works Agency (2025 Cal. App. LEXIS 94*), has opened the door to potential inverse claims, at least where a property owner receives a ...

In 2024, we reported on a significant published appellate decision, South San Joaquin Irrigation District v. PG&E, which concluded that when a public agency uses eminent domain to acquire the assets of an electric, gas, or water utility, the court can exercise its independent judgment in determining whether the agency’s acquisition satisfies the public use and necessity requirements. The decision provided guidance on the standard of review and the limited level of deference given to public agencies in their decision-making on such utility take-overs. …