Sipriano v. Great Spring Waters of America, Inc.
Supreme Court of Texas
1 S.W.3d 75 (1999)
Relevant factsFree
Spring Waters (defendant) began pumping 90,000 gallons of groundwater daily, severely depleting neighboring Sipriano's (plaintiff) wells; both lower courts applied Texas's century-old rule of capture to hold Spring Waters had no liability, and recent legislation had streamlined creation of water conservation districts requiring extraction permits.
IssueFree
Whether landowners may take all the water under their land without liability to their neighbors.