Ryan v. Southern Natural Gas Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
879 F.2d 162 (1989)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
The Harrisons (plaintiffs) owned land in Louisiana and granted a servitude over their land to the Southern Natural Gas Company (SNG) (defendant). The servitude allowed SNG to construct a pipeline canal on two sections of the Harrisons’ land. The servitude agreement explicitly provided that SNG was required to backfill or dam the canal in one section but was entitled to leave the canal open in the other section. Over time, water from this open section of the canal caused erosion and salt-water damage to the Harrisons’ land. Approximately two decades after the creation of the servitude, the Harrisons requested that SNG dam the open part of the canal. SNG refused, and the Harrisons sued SNG for the damage to their land. The trial court found that SNG had been negligent in failing to dam the canal and awarded damages to the Harrisons. SNG appealed. At some point, the Ryans (plaintiffs) acquired land affected by the damage from the Harrisons and became parties to the suit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Davis, 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. 46,400 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.
