If a comprehensive adjudication of groundwater rights under Code of Civil Procedure section 833 is filed in the superior court of a county that overlies any portion of the groundwater basin at issue, the presiding judge of that court must:
Rule 3.404.Requesting assignment of judge when a comprehensive groundwater adjudication is filed in a court overlying the groundwater basin at issue
Division 4. Parties and Actions · Chapter 5. Complex Cases · Adopted 2026 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceRule 3.404 requires the presiding judge of a superior court in a county overlying a groundwater basin at issue in a comprehensive groundwater rights adjudication to request a judicial assignment from the Temporary Assigned Judges Program, since local judges are disqualified from hearing the case.
Full Text of Rule 3.404
Plain-English Summary
Comprehensive groundwater adjudications resolve competing rights to an entire groundwater basin, and the judges most familiar with the local court are often the same people the basin affects. Rule 3.404 responds to that conflict by requiring the presiding judge of a superior court whose county overlies any part of the groundwater basin at issue to submit a request for a judicial assignment to the Temporary Assigned Judges Program the moment a comprehensive groundwater adjudication under Code of Civil Procedure section 833 is filed there.
The request has to identify itself specifically as a comprehensive groundwater adjudication assignment under Code of Civil Procedure section 838(a)(1) — the provision that disqualifies local judges and puts the Chair of the Judicial Council in charge of naming someone from outside to preside. Only the presiding judge, not any individual judge on the bench, can make that request, and only a court whose county overlies the basin faces the disqualification in the first place. A groundwater adjudication is treated as presumptively complex under rule 3.400, but because the assignment rules here come from a distinct statutory scheme, the coordination procedures in chapter 7 of this division do not govern how the presiding judge over the case gets assigned.
Advisory Committee Comment
The following comment is published by the Judicial Council of California alongside the rule itself — not commentary from this site.
Under Code of Civil Procedure section 838(a)(1), a judge of a superior court of a county that overlies all or any portion of the groundwater basin at issue in the comprehensive adjudication is disqualified, and the Chair of the Judicial Council must assign a judge to preside over the proceedings. In such circumstances, only a presiding judge may submit a request to the Chair for assignment of a new judge. If the complaint is filed in the superior court of a county not overlying any portion of the groundwater basin at issue, the judges of that court are not disqualified under section 838(a)(1), and a presiding judge has no basis to request that the Chair of the Judicial Council assign a judge to preside in the action under that section. The definitions in Code of Civil Procedure section 832 apply to this rule. A comprehensive adjudication of groundwater rights is presumed to be a “complex case” under rule 3.400 of the California Rules of Court, but because the underlying statutes differ concerning assignment of judges, the rules for assignment of judges in Coordination of Complex Actions (title 3, division 4, chapter 7) do not apply to such adjudications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who requests a judge for a comprehensive groundwater adjudication?
Rule 3.404 puts that duty on the presiding judge of the superior court in a county that overlies any portion of the groundwater basin at issue, not on any individual judge.
Why can't a local superior court judge hear a comprehensive groundwater adjudication?
Under Code of Civil Procedure section 838(a)(1), a judge in a county overlying the affected groundwater basin is disqualified, so the Chair of the Judicial Council must assign a judge from elsewhere.
What program handles the judicial assignment request under Rule 3.404?
The presiding judge submits the request to the Temporary Assigned Judges Program, specifically identifying it as a comprehensive groundwater adjudication assignment under section 838(a)(1).
Is a comprehensive groundwater adjudication treated as a complex case?
Yes, it is presumed complex under rule 3.400, though the judge-assignment rules for this type of case come from a separate statutory scheme rather than the usual complex-case coordination rules.
Amendment History
Rule 3.404 adopted effective January 1, 2026.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from
the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: groundwater adjudication judge assignment californiarule 3.404 disqualified judge groundwatercomprehensive groundwater rights adjudication court