R. O. Robinson v. Robbins Petroleum Corporation

The question here is the right of the surface owner of a tract, the minerals of which are included within a secondary recovery unit, to recover damages from the operator and owners of the unit for salt water taken from his tract for purposes of waterflooding the entire unit. The litigation began with the unit operator seeking an injunction to prevent the surface owner from interfering with the operations, but the phase of the controversy before us now is the surface owners action against the unit operator and mineral interest owners to collect damages for the salt water which has been taken to repressure the oil bearing formation. Summary judgment was entered by the trial court in favor of the operator and mineral interest owners, and the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed on the ground that their dominant estate entitled them to this use of the water. 487 S.W.2d 794.