Recognizing the Shared Ownership of Subsurface Resource Pools

62 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2013

See all articles by Peter M. Gerhart

Peter M. Gerhart

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Robert Cheren

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Date Written: May 1, 2013

Abstract

This Article debunks the widely held view that the law of property in oil and gas is governed by a common law rule of capture. Rather, the common law courts embraced the paradigm of shared property for subsurface pools of oil and gas and treated these resources as owned by tenants in common, as modified by a nuisance exception for injuries to subsurface resource pools.

In this revisionist description of the common law, we show that when faced with questions about the disruption of subsurface resource pools, courts were not concerned about title but about the hidden nature of the resources and the resulting inability of courts to determine which oil and gas was underneath which surface property. Instead of focusing on the capture of wild animals, courts held that injuries to subsurface oil and gas are damnum absque injuria and not legally actionable by analogy to earlier cases dealing with subsurface water. Moreover, although courts could not offer a remedy for diminution of subsurface resource pools because the resources were hidden, the migratory nature of the resources induced courts to develop several doctrines that required each surface owner to take into account the interests of other surface owners when deciding how to exploit the subsurface common pool resource: causes of action for malicious interference, waste, and unreasonable exploitation. The common law recognized, on the one hand, limits on the judicial ability to regulate hidden resources while, on the other hand, recognizing the responsibilities that arose from shared migratory ownership of subsurface resource pools.

Keywords: Property Law, Hydraulic Fracturing, Water Law, Oil and Gas Law, Rule of Capture

Suggested Citation

Gerhart, Peter M. and Cheren, Robert, Recognizing the Shared Ownership of Subsurface Resource Pools (May 1, 2013). Case Western Reserve Law Review, Vol. 63, No. 4, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2278671

Peter M. Gerhart

Case Western Reserve University School of Law ( email )

11075 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106-7148
United States
216-368-5469 (Phone)
216-368-2086 (Fax)

Robert Cheren (Contact Author)

Case Western Reserve University School of Law ( email )

11075 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106-7148
United States

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