Case Sent Back for Further Proceedings Including Trial.
LOS ANGELES (May 14, 2026) – The California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District has reversed a summary judgment for the City of Fresno in a certified class action brought on behalf of Northeast Fresno homeowners whose galvanized iron plumbing corroded from the City’s water. The Court of Appeal also reversed the trial court’s order sustaining a demurrer to the Plaintiffs’ inverse condemnation claim. Further, the Court of Appeal denied the City’s cross-appeal of the trial court’s decision to certify the case for class action treatment. The City’s petition to the California Supreme Court for review of the Court of Appeal’s opinion was also denied. Today, the case was sent back to the Fresno County Superior Court for further proceedings.
The win for Plaintiffs on appeal in Micheli, et al. v. City of Fresno, Case No. F085599, marks 10 years of litigation with the City of Fresno since a public investigation into the City’s discolored water issues in Northeast Fresno revealed that the City’s water corroded the galvanized iron plumbing of its residents and was not in compliance with its water permit or safe drinking water laws.
Counsel representing Plaintiffs on appeal include the law firms Boucher LLP, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, Esner, Chang, Boyer & Murphy, and Chandler Law.