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Keywords

lawsuitplaintiffdefendantdiscoveryliabilityappealtrialsummary judgment
plaintiffdefendanttrialtestimonymotionsummary judgmentwillmotion for summary judgment

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McAlister v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 233 Kan. 252, 662 P.2d 1203

Facts

McAlister owned three tracts of land in Harvey County, Kansas, and purchased the land to start an agricultural business. He discovered that the fresh water well on his property became polluted with high chloride and salt content in 1974, leading him to file a lawsuit against several oil companies. During discovery, he identified additional companies that may have contributed to the pollution, prompting a second lawsuit. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, leading to McAlister's appeal.

McAlister is the owner of three tracts of land in Harvey County, Kansas. Plaintiff purchased a two acre tract of land in 1966 where the old Willis School is located; in 1967 he purchased an additional 80 acre tract adjacent to the Willis School tract; and in 1968 an additional 40 acres adjacent to the Willis School tract was purchased by the plaintiff.

Issue

Whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for the defendants when material fact issues existed regarding their liability for the pollution of McAlister's well.

The sole fact issue in this case is whether any or all of the defendants allowed salt water brine to seep from their oil field operations into plaintiff's water well.

Rule

Summary judgment is proper only if no genuine issue of material fact remains, and the court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.

A motion for summary judgment may be granted only if the record before the court conclusively shows there remains no genuine issue of a material fact unresolved.

Analysis

The court found that the trial court improperly granted summary judgment based on the plaintiff's inability to pinpoint specific actions by each defendant. The court emphasized that the plaintiff had provided substantive proof of violations of the Oil Well Pollution Act by each defendant, and that the existence of material fact issues warranted a trial.

The court erred in granting defendants' motions for summary judgment.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part, allowing the case to proceed to trial on the issues of liability.

The judgment of the district court in case No. 54,357 is reversed and remanded for a trial of the issues.

Who won?

McAlister prevailed in part as the Supreme Court reversed the summary judgment, allowing his claims to be heard in court.

The trial court has weighed the testimony of the plaintiff's witnesses and determined their observations were of little value or were pure speculation and conjecture.

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