Rose v. Socony-Vacuum Corp.
Rhode Island Supreme Court
54 R.I. 411, 173 A. 627 (1934)
- Written by Tanya Munson, JD
Facts
Manuel Rose (plaintiff) owned a farm in East Providence, where he raised pigs and chickens. Neighboring Rose’s farm, Socony-Vacuum Corp. (Socony) (defendant) owned a tract of land on which it had constructed an oil refinery and stored petroleum, gasoline, and other petroleum products. Occasionally, Socony would discharge large quantities of the petroleum, gasoline, and petroleum products on its land and into basins, bodies of water, and natural ponds. The products that Socony discharged escaped its land and, through percolation, polluted the waters on Rose’s property. Rose’s well and stream became polluted, especially by gasoline. Rose used the water and stream to provide drinking water for his livestock. As a result of the pollution, hundreds of Rose’s animals died. Rose brought suit in superior court against Socony and alleged that he suffered damages caused by nuisance as a result of Socony’s actions. The superior court found in favor of Socony, and Rose appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Murdock, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.