Pacific Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in the Casitas takings case, involving a municipal water district's water supply and public demand for water under the federal Endangered Species Act. PLF's brief argues that the government failed to

articulate a valid background principle defense under Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003, 1029-30 (1992). PLF further points out that the government does not directly dispute that Casitas’ water is a protected form of property, for good reason. But, as PLF points out, the Government's position in the litigation is to "effectively render Casitas’ property right a hollow, government-controlled asset that is property in

name only."