We mourn the loss of our longtime partner, Art Littleworth, who passed away on October 18, 2021. Read more about Art’s legacy and influence here.
 
Arthur L. Littleworth practiced as a senior partner in Best Best & Krieger’s Riverside office for nearly 70 years. He was one of the preeminent water law attorneys in the United States. In his many years of legal practice, he participated in all aspects of water law, including transactional and litigation matters. In 2003 he was named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal.
 
Art was chosen by the United States Supreme Court to serve as special master in interstate litigation over the Arkansas River between Kansas and Colorado. The two opinions he issued in the case were both unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court. Art represented the State Water Contractors and their 20 million users who receive water from the State Water Project in the Bay-Delta hearings before the State Water Resources Control Board, and in related litigation and extensive statewide settlement negotiations. He was also involved in the Mono Lake litigation, representing local water users in that controversy. He represented the East Bay Municipal Utility District in a major lawsuit challenging the District’s contract with the Bureau of Reclamation to take water from the American River, and environmental litigation challenging that several hundred million dollar project.
 
Art worked extensively in water rights adjudications. He represented Rancho California Water District in litigation with the U.S. Justice Department concerning the water rights of the Marine Corps and Camp Pendleton, and represented the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District concerning the water rights of the Soboba Band of Mission Indians on the San Jacinto River. He was involved in a general adjudication of the Mojave River system. He also acted as lead counsel for Riverside County defendants in an action involving more than 1,000 parties brought by the downstream Orange County Water District to adjudicate all water rights within the Santa Ana River watershed.
 
He co-authored the book “California Water,” published in 1995 by Solano Press, widely viewed as the definitive book on this subject. The book was updated in 2007 and 2019.