Morgan v. Ito

Mineral rights owners' lawsuit asserting that California law prohibiting drilling of new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of “sensitive receptors” constituted an unconstitutional taking.

A brother and sister who own rights to minerals located on and underneath two parcels in Santa Barbara County filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Central District of California asserting that a California law (SB 1137) prohibiting drilling of new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of “sensitive receptors” constituted an unconstitutional taking. Their complaint alleged that “SB 1137 is the latest apex of a long line of attacks on the use of natural resources within California to further the state government’s quest to curb anthropogenic climate change.” The complaint alleged that the law effectively prohibited productive use of the plaintiffs’ mineral estate and thereby eliminated any economically beneficial use of that estate. The complaint further alleged that the law “unfairly requires mineral estate owners to bear the burden of the State’s policy choices regarding climate change.” The plaintiffs asked the court to enjoin enforcement of SB 1137 insofar as it banned issuance of permits for the plaintiffs to drill new oil wells, redrill or deepen existing wells, or permanently alter casing of existing wells. They also requested declaratory relief and attorney fees and costs. NB: The United States filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of California challenging SB 1137 on January 14, 2026.