In the war over Measure Z, the Nov. 8 ballot measure that bans fracking, wastewater injection and new oil development in Monterey County, the first battle has been fought. It was a draw.
On March 17, a half-dozen attorneys sat before Monterey County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wills to argue, in part, how the ongoing litigation associated with Measure Z will play out.
At issue: whether Protect Monterey County, the activist group behind the measure, and Center for Biological Diversity, the national environmental nonprofit whose attorneys crafted the measure’s language, would become party to two lawsuits oil companies Chevron and Aera filed against the county in December, aiming to block the measure.
At the March 17 hearing, Wills was clear that he wants the case to move along as speedily as possible, and he worried that adding intervening parties would slow it down.
Wills ruled that Protect Monterey County had standing to become an intervening party; the Center for Biological Diversity, he ruled, did not have such standing, and its request to join the lawsuit was denied.
Chevron’s and Aera’s lawsuits are separate, and both argue that the measure calls for an unconstitutional “taking” of mineral resources owned by the companies. Neither suit specifies monetary damages, although Aera’s suit claims it is “an extraordinary sum of money.”
Wills decided that for now, the two suits will remain separate. And there are more lawsuits.
On March 13, a large group of South County mineral rights owners sued the county over Measure Z, and on March 17, Eagle Petroleum also sued the county over Measure Z. On top of that, Salinas-based attorney David Balch says he will also a file a lawsuit against the county on behalf of mineral rights owners, after the Weekly’s deadline but before the statute of limitations takes effect March 23.
It means a small army of attorneys has assembled to both fight and defend Measure Z. For supporters who worry the county’s attorneys will get outgunned by high-priced lawyers defending oil interests, there is hope: Protect Monterey County’s attorney is Michael Geibelson, a partner for Robins Kaplan, a decorated law firm with offices across the country.
The firm, working pro bono, won tens of millions in 2010 for those impacted by the 2007 I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota.
“The firm has a long and strong commitment in engaging in matters of strong public interest,” Geibelson says.
The next hearing for the Chevron and Aera cases is April 18.