The judgment in a comprehensive adjudication conducted pursuant to this chapter shall be binding on the parties to the comprehensive adjudication and all their successors in interest, including, but not limited to, heirs, executors, administrators, assigns, lessees, licensees, the agents and employees of the parties to the comprehensive adjudication and all their successors in interest, and all landowners or other persons claiming rights to extract groundwater from the basin whose claims have not been exempted and are covered by the notice provided in the comprehensive adjudication.
§ 851.Judgment Binding On Successors
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 7. Actions Relating to Groundwater Rights · Article 17. Judgment Binding on Successors · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 851 makes the judgment in a comprehensive adjudication binding on the parties and all their successors in interest, including heirs, assigns, lessees, and other claimants covered by the adjudication's notice whose claims weren't exempted.
Full Text of § 851
Plain-English Summary
A comprehensive adjudication is only useful as a long-term management tool if its judgment sticks — not just to the parties who litigated it, but to whoever comes after them. Section 851 makes the judgment binding on the parties and their successors in interest broadly defined: heirs, executors, administrators, assigns, lessees, licensees, agents, and employees, along with all their own successors.
The judgment also binds landowners or other persons claiming a right to extract groundwater from the basin whose claims weren't exempted under § 833 and were covered by the notice provided during the case. That link back to the notice requirements in §§ 835 and 836 is what gives the judgment its comprehensive, in rem character — everyone properly notified, and not specifically exempted, is bound by the outcome even if they never appeared.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is bound by a comprehensive adjudication's judgment?
The parties to the case and all their successors in interest, including heirs, executors, assigns, lessees, licensees, agents, and employees.
Does the judgment bind people who weren't formal parties to the case?
Yes, if they're landowners or others claiming groundwater extraction rights whose claims weren't exempted and were covered by the notice given during the adjudication.
What about claims that were exempted under § 833?
Section 851 excludes claims exempted under § 833 from the binding effect described here.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2016 ch 86 (SB 1171),s 31, eff. 1/1/2017. Added by Stats 2015 ch 672 (AB 1390),s 1, eff. 1/1/2016.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: groundwater judgment binding on successors california