Williams v. Amoco Production Company

Natural gas from Amoco's (defendant) wells seeped into underground water formations and then into irrigation water owned by the Williamses (plaintiffs), reducing their water-production rate. The plaintiffs sued on strict-liability and nuisance theories. The trial court instructed the jury on strict liability but refused a nuisance instruction, and the jury found for the plaintiffs. Amoco appealed, arguing the jury should have been instructed on negligence, not strict liability; the plaintiffs countered that any retrial should include a nuisance instruction.

Whether strict liability applies to the escape of natural gas from a gas well into underground water and then into irrigation water.