Hammonds v. Central Kentucky Natural Gas Co.

Central Kentucky Natural Gas Company (defendant) extracted all the natural gas from a roughly 15,000-acre field it mostly leased, then began storing additional purchased gas in the vacated underground reservoir to withdraw as needed. Hammonds (plaintiff) owned 54 acres over which the reservoir ran; the company neither leased her land nor told her about the storage. Hammonds sued for trespass and compensation for use of her land. The trial court ruled for the company, and Hammonds appealed.