direction must be resisted.’ ” Id. at 321, 122 S.Ct. 1465 (quoting Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, 533 U.S. 606, 636, 121 S.Ct. 2448, 150 L.Ed.2d 592 (2001) (O’Connor, J.) (concurring)). C. Resolution Of Government’s Motion To Dismiss. 1. Count IV — Taking Of “Vested Contract Rights” Claim. The complaint alleges that SMUD’s “vested contract rights” are a constitutionally protected property interest. See Compl. at ¶¶ 66-67. The United States Supreme Court has recognized that “[ejontraet rights are a form of property and as such may be taken for a public purpose provided that just compensation is paid.” United States Trust Co. of N.Y. v. New Jersey, 431 U.S. 1, 19, n. 16, 97 S.Ct. 1505, 52 L.Ed.2d 92 (1977); see also Cienega Gardens v. United States, 331 F.3d 1319, 1328-31 (Fed.Cir.2003) (<HOLDING>). The complaint also alleges that SMUD’s
holding that plaintiffs had no vested interest in former interpretation of state law holding that plaintiffs may have a property interest in real property holding that plaintiffs may have a property interest in vested contractual rights holding that inmates have a property interest in their money recognizing that water rights constitute a real property interest