Mr. Hobbs graduated from California State University, Stanislaus (B.A., 2001) and from the McGeorge School of Law (J.D., 2004). He was admitted to the California State Bar in January 2005.
Mr. Hobbs is a shareholder in the firm. Mr. Hobbs acts as the firm's lead attorney on matters for the Merquin County Water District, and the Turlock Mosquito Abatement District and assists in his areas of expertise for our other public agency clients. In representing these agencies, Mr. Hobbs has advised and assisted the agencies in a number of legal matters, including, but not limited to, Proposition 218 water and sewer rate increases, landowner-voting director elections, Political Reform Act, conflicts of interest, Brown Act, employment issues, implementation of water conservation measures, responding to Public Records Act requests, LAFCO, abatement procedures and enforcement, and government contract issues. He is a member of the Legal Advisory Working Group of the California Special Districts Association. Mr. Hobbs is an experienced litigator at both the trial and appellate levels.
Prior to joining the firm on July 1, 2010, Mr. Hobbs' primary area of practice was residential subdivision development where he was responsible for real property acquisitions, vertical construction contracts and warranty issues, Subdivision Map Act compliance, local zoning, and General Plan Amendments.
Mr. Hobbs is an experienced public law and contract litigator. He advises, represents, and assists our clients on litigation matters at the staff and board level, at trial, and on appeal if necessary. He was the lead attorney on a case involving a special district's out-of-boundary service rules and successfully advised and represented the special district at trial and on appeal. See City of Patterson v. Turlock Irrigation Dist., (2014) 227 Cal. App. 4th 484. He also assisted in the drafting of a legislative amendment to the Cortes-Knox Hertzberg Act (LAFCO) after the decision.
More recently, Mr. Hobbs was the lead attorney and successfully represented the special district at trial and on appeal in Inzana v. Turlock Irrigation Dist. Bd. of Directors, (2019) 35 Cal. App. 5th 429, which affirmed the ordinances and Board-adopted rules and regulations special districts may enforce and use administratively to protect district property, without having to resort to expensive litigation for each violation. Specifically, the court in Inzana affirmed the use of the special district's termination of services administrative procedure where the customer knowingly encroached within a district pipeline easement thereby endangering the integrity of the pipeline. This and other administrative remedies are now available to all water and sewer districts needing to enforce their easement rights.
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