Law360, New York ( August 6, 2014, 10:17 AM EDT) -- The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in The Aransas Project v. Shaw, No. 13-40317 (5th Cir. June 30, 2014), clarified two points relating to the element of causation in claims under the Endangered Species Act. The case involved allegations that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had "taken" endangered whooping cranes by issuing water withdrawal permits that were alleged to have resulted in the deaths of 23 whooping cranes. Reversing the district court, the Fifth Circuit held that the chain of events linking these permits to the deaths was not sufficiently "direct" or "foreseeable" to sustain a claim under the ESA. The court also cast serious doubt on the theory of "vicarious liability" that had been used to hold TCEQ liable under the ESA for failing to regulate private actions that resulted in harm to protected species....