The Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals recently delivered its opinion in Triad Hunter, LLC v. Eagle Natrium, LLC, affirming significant jury awards for Triad Hunter, a natural gas producer, in a dispute over brine cavern intrusion from a neighboring salt mining operation owned by Westlake Chemical Corporation. The court upheld Triad’s claims of negligence and trespass while denying punitive damages and injunctive relief.
Case Overview
Triad Hunter operates gas wells in Monroe County, Ohio. Adjacent to the property, Westlake’s salt mining operations involve injecting high-pressure water to dissolve underground salt, creating expansive brine caverns. Evidence at trial revealed these caverns extended beneath Triad’s property, leading to damaged gas wells, unstable drilling conditions, and lost profits for Triad. The jury awarded Triad over $70 million for damages, including lost profits and increased drilling costs.
Westlake appealed and challenged the negligence, trespass findings, and the damages awarded, while Triad sought punitive damages and an injunction against further mining operations.
Appellate Decision
On appeal, Westlake argued the trial court should have disregarded the jury verdict, claiming that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to establish:
- Negligence: Westlake asserted that expert testimony was not presented at trial, and that it was required to demonstrate it breached an industry standard of care in its subsurface salt mining operations.
- Trespass: Westlake contended that Triad failed to prove the element of intent necessary for a trespass claim, arguing its actions were, at most, reckless, not intentional.
The appellate court rejected these arguments finding the expert testimony was not necessary to prove Westlake’s underground caverns presented a risk to Triad’s property. The appellate court also held that the evidence showed Westlake knew its caverns were trespassing onto Triad’s property.
The appellate court also rejected Westlake’s appeal of the jury’s $70 million damages award. The court held that Triad’s lost profits had been supported by evidence at trial and that Triad would suffer increased costs in its own business due to the brine intrusion.
Insights for Property Owners
This case highlights the potential for significant damages if someone trespasses on neighboring properties. Here, it was over a subsurface trespass.
The case shows that trespass is not limited to just deliberate acts. If a company’s actions are likely to encroach on others’ property, they can be held liable. It highlights knowing exactly where your property starts and ends, or else you may be encroaching on another’s property and causing them damage. It also highlights the risk of not addressing problems immediately. Westlake may have been able to avoid the significant damages had it caught its own acts timely, instead of up to when Triad felt it was necessary to sue.
If you have any questions about this recent appellate decision, please reach out to litigation attorney Jeffrey R. Vaisa (JRV@kjk.com; 216.736.7287).