Soames v. Indiana Department of Natural Resources

After Young Oil's lease with landowner Soames (plaintiff) was terminated by a court and Young stopped producing oil on her property, the Department of Natural Resources (defendant) found the wells noncompliant with state law and ordered them plugged; Young offered to plug the wells but Soames refused it access to her property, leading an administrative law judge to find both parties had a duty to plug the wells, a finding the department adopted while allowing Soames to have a licensed professional (at her expense) observe the process, and Soames sought judicial review arguing the department abused its discretion since the statute didn't mandate plugging.