form8k_feb09.htm
Securities
and Exchange Commission
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form
8-K
Current
Report
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities
Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Report (Date of earliest event reported):
February
11, 2009
Cadiz
Inc.
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
(State or
other jurisdiction of incorporation)
|
0-12114
|
77-0313235
|
|
(Commission
File Number)
|
(IRS
Employer Identification No.)
|
|
550
South Hope Street, Suite 2850, Los Angeles, California
|
90071
|
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant's
telephone number, including area code: (213) 271-1600
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
[ ] Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
[ ] Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule
14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule
13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item
8.01 OTHER EVENTS
On
February 11, 2009, in a filing with the Superior Court of Los Angeles, the
Company and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
("Metropolitan") agreed to dismiss all outstanding legal claims against each
other.
Recent
developments favorable to the Company have likely reduced the damages
recoverable by the Company in the action, even had the Company ultimately
prevailed in its claims. The loss of the right to convey water
between the Colorado River Aqueduct and Cadiz had been a cornerstone of the
Company’s claim for damages in the case. However, as previously
reported, the Company entered into a 99-year lease agreement in September 2008
with the Arizona and California Railroad Company (ARZC) providing the Company
with an alternative right-of-way for the construction of a conveyance pipeline
connecting the Cadiz Valley Dry Year Supply Project ("Project") to the Colorado
River Aqueduct.
Further,
mounting water shortages in California are significantly increasing the demand
for and value of our water. Discussions are presently underway with
multiple public water systems that have expressed a desire to obtain water and
storage rights from the Company.
The
dismissal of the Metropolitan litigation will remove an impediment to the
Company's ability to negotiate agreements with water purveyors that rely upon
Metropolitan for a portion of their water. The litigation process
associated with the Company's claims against Metropolitan raised
uncertainty over the potential impact of the pending litigation on any
arrangement that may be negotiated now. With the dismissal of the
Metropolitan litigation the Company can now focus its attention entirely on
the development of the Project and its other assets through such alternative
arrangements.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.
Cadiz
Inc
| By: |
/s/ Timothy J.
Shaheen |
| |
Timothy J.
Shaheen |
| |
Chief Financial
Officer |
Dated: February
12, 2009