Environmental Law & Policy Alert – Update from Somach Simmons & Dunn

May 5, 2026

Court Rejects State Water Contractors’ Attempt to Disqualify Judge Presiding Over Delta Tunnel Cases, Citing “Belated Forum Shopping”

On April 27, 2026, the Sacramento County Superior Court, Assistant Presiding Judge Steven M. Gervercer, denied a motion by the State Water Contractors (Water Contractors) to disqualify Judge Stephen P. Acquisto, who has been presiding for more than two years over ten coordinated cases challenging the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) approvals of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) under the California Environmental Quality Act, Delta Reform Act and other statutes, and two other related cases. The cases had been pending for nearly two years when the Water Contractors, proponents of the Delta tunnel, moved to intervene. Petitioners, including all five Delta Counties, North, Central and South Delta Water Agencies, Stockton, Sacramento Area Sewer District and a broad coalition of tribes and environmental and non-governmental organizations, opposed intervention on the grounds that the cases had progressed too far (including the June 2024 issuance of a preliminary injunction against DWR’s geotechnical activities and years of work on the administrative record) and intervention was likely to create confusion and delay … Read More

Written by Kelley M. Taber