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Law School Case Briefs
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Friendswood Development Co. v. Smith-Southwest Industries, Inc.
Texas Supreme Court (1978) | 576 S.W.2d 21; 5 A.L.R. 4th 591; 22 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 107; 62 Oil & Gas Rep. 218; 9 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20452; 1978 Tex. LEXIS 404
TL;DR: Landowners sued a developer for land subsidence caused by groundwater pumping. The court upheld the traditional property rule of absolute groundwater ownership, denying liability for past actions, but prospectively created a new tort cause of action for negligently causing future subsidence.
Legal Significance: This case prospectively modified Texas's absolute ownership rule for groundwater by introducing negligence liability for land subsidence. It exemplifies judicial deference to established property rules via stare decisis while simultaneously adapting the law to modern realities through prospective overruling.