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 <a href="https://www.climatecasechart.com/collections/united-states-v-california_5765">lawsuit</a> in the Eastern District of California challenging SB 1137 on January 14, 2026.

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.

Morgan v. Ito

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Mineral Estate Owners Alleged that California Law Restricting Oil and Gas Drilling Was Unconstitutional Taking

Filed

United States of America

California

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Heat extracted from the ground, usually in the form of hot water or steam and typically referred to as hydrothermal fluid.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Mineral Estate Owners Alleged that California Law Restricting Oil and Gas Drilling Was Unconstitutional Taking

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Finance