No duty owed to neighbor in de-watering operations?
Abbott Laboratories removed 122 acre feet of groundwater rather than the 2.07 acre feet authorized by its de-watering permit during construction of a plant basement. The de-watering lowered the groundwater-table and killed the Bray family's pecan tree orchards next door. A clear case of negligence or nuisance?
A federal district court thought so an awarded the Bradys $1,237,532 in actual and punitive damages.
But the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit disagreed, ruling in Brady v Abbott Laboratories that Arizona's "reasonable use" doctrine barred the Brady's claim. The "reasonable use" doctrine permits the extraction of groundwater "so long as it is taken in connection with a beneficial enjoyment of the land from which it is taken." Under this doctrine, Abbott owed no duty of care to the Bradys. Abbott had let some of the groundwater drain away from its land through a drainage ditch, but it had not used the water for off-site land. Accordingly, the court reasoned the doctrine applied and the Bradys were not entitled to damages.