Cal. Steel Industries, Inc. v. CCG Ontario, LLC CA
This is a slander of title dispute between two companies holding a joint interest in an annual right to extract water from the Chino Basin, a large groundwater basin in the Inland Empire. At the time of the alleged slander, California Steel Industries, Inc. (California Steel) and CCG Ontario LLC (CCG) held a joint right to extract 630 acre-feet (af) per year, as tenants in common. CCG enjoyed the first priority to the water, or the first right to use it, and California Steel had a second priority—that is, it could use whatever amount CCG did not use during a given year.
The dispute at the heart of this case arose in late 2008, when CCG sold the annual right to extract the 630 af to a third party, Aqua Capital Management LP (Aqua), without disclosing California Steel’s interest in the water. During negotiations, CCG told Aqua that California Steel no longer held an interest in the water, when CCG knew that was not the case.
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