Fair Oaks, California                                      July 18, 2025                                                                      

On April 1, 2025, Mr. Leon Corcos sued the Fair Oaks Water District (FOWD), asking a judge to order the District to immediately cease all activities related to renovating the existing FOWD corporation yard. Sacramento County approved the corporation yard project over three years ago, and Mr. Corcos did not appeal or otherwise dispute the County’s decision. Mr. Corcos seeks a Writ of Mandamus, which is a form of relief in which the Court is asked to order an independent branch of government to take certain action. This is an extraordinary request and is limited in its application due to the constitutional separation of powers. Mr. Corcos wrongly asserts the Court can order the FOWD to cease all work on the corporation yard project. Yet, Mr. Corcos does not identify a single law FOWD has violated.

On April 2, 2025, Mr. Theodore Wolter, a Fair Oaks resident and attorney, contacted the District to inform them of the lawsuit. Mr. Wolter also offered to represent FOWD in the litigation as a public service to the community – gaining his firm’s approval to provide discount rates to the FOWD. Mr. Wolter’s leadership in, and service to, Fair Oaks runs deep: for twelve years he served as Chief of Staff to one of the Sacramento County Supervisors representing Fair Oaks, and he is currently a member of the Sacramento County Fair Oaks Community Planning Advisory Council.

“The lawsuit Mr. Corcos filed has no legal merit. We anticipate it will be dismissed in response to FOWD’s demurrer (motion to dismiss). It is wrong to cause FOWD to spend ratepayer money on such matters” stated Mr. Wolter. “Mr. Corcos’s remedy lies in the political process, not the courts.”

FOWD has filed a demurrer to Mr. Corcos’s lawsuit. That demurrer is set for hearing on August 29, 2025 in Department 32 of the Sacramento Superior Court. The lawsuit is identified as Sacramento Superior Court Case Number 25WM000050.

Background:

“Around 2020, Mr. Corcos developed property across the street from the FOWD’s existing corporation yard into a popular dining complex without adequate parking for staff and patrons” stated FOWD Board President Misha Sarkovich. Soon after, in March of 2021, Mr. Corcos sent a letter to FOWD requesting that they allow him to use their property for valet parking for his restaurants as a public service to the community of Fair Oaks. The FOWD Board of Directors’ decision not to allow Mr. Corcos to use public facilities for personal gain started a nasty personal attack against FOWD officials and staff that has lasted over five years and continues with the filing of the current frivolous lawsuit. Mr. Corcos attempted a takeover of the FOWD Board in the 2024 election, but the slate of candidates he endorsed was not elected. Having failed in the political process, Mr. Corcos now wrongly seeks to achieve his desired outcome from the courts.

“The ongoing attacks upon the Fair Oaks Water District by Mr. Corcos take away resources that should be used to fulfill the mission of the FOWD: providing our community with an adequate and reliable supply of water, exceeding all drinking water standards, at the lowest reasonable cost” stated FOWD General Manager Tom Gray. 

Despite these challenges, FOWD continues to provide reliable water service at the lowest rates in the Sacramento region; while investing heavily in water system infrastructure with over forty percent of water rate revenue going towards capital improvements in the past twenty years.

Just As Every Water Drop Is Valuable, So Is Every Ratepayer Dollar!