Ohio Oil Company v. Indiana (177 U.S. 190)

by Edward Douglass White

United States Supreme Court

177 U.S. 190

Ohio Oil Company  v.  Indiana

 Argued: December 18, 19, 1899. --- Decided: April 9, 1900

The title, preamble, and first section of a law enacted in 1893 by the state of Indiana (Acts 1893, p. 300) are as follows:

'An Act Concerning the Sinking, Safety, Maintenance, Use, and Operation of Natural Gas and Oil Wells, Prescribing Penalties and Declaring an Emergency.

'Whereas, great danger to life and injury to persons and property is liable to result from the improper, unsafe, and negligent sinking, maintenance, use, and operation of natural gas and oil wells; therefore,

'Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Indiana, That it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation having possession or control of any natural gas or oil well, whether as a contractor, owner, lessee, agent, or manager, to allow or permit the flow of gas or oil from any such well to escape into the open air without being confined within such well or proper pipes or other safe receptacle, for a longer period than two (2) days next after gas or oil shall have been struck in such well. And thereafter all such gas or oil shall be safely and securely confined in such well, pipes, or other safe and proper receptacles.'

The remaining sections of the law in question are printed in the margin.

The issue which this record presents, on the subject of the law just referred to, is this: Did the enforcement of the first section of the statute produce as to the persons whose obedience to its commands were coerced by injunction, a taking of private property without adequate compensation; that is, did the execution of the statute amount to a denial of due process of law contrary to the provisions of the [[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|Fourteenth Amendment]]]]]]]]]] to the Constitution of the United States?

The controversy was thus initiated: The state of Indiana, through its attorney general, filed a complaint in the circuit court of the county of Madison in the state of Indiana, against the Ohio Oil Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Ohio, but authorized to carry on its business in the state of Indiana, as it had complied with the regulations enacted by that state as to foreign corporations doing business therein. The cause of complaint was thus stated:

'Plaintiff says that for many years heretofore there has existed, underlying the counties of Madison, Grant, Howard, Delaware, Blackford, Tipton, Hamilton, Wells, and other counties of the state of Indiana, a large subterranean deposit of natural gas, occupying a reservoir of large extent, with well-defined boundaries, and utilized for fuel and light by the people of those counties and many other counties and cities of Indiana, including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Richmond, Logansport, Anderson, Muncie, Marion, Kokomo, and others of the most populous cities of said state, to which cities said gas is conducted, after being brought to the surface of the earth, through pipes and conduits, by means of which many hundreds of thousands of the people of the state of Indiana are now, and have been for more than ten years last past, continuously supplied with gas for light and fuel; that said natural gas underlying the counties aforesaid and other portions of the state is contained in and percolates freely through a stratum of rock known as Trenton rock, comprising a vast reservoir in which the gas is confined under great pressure, and from which it escapes, when it is permitted to do so, with great force.

'The fuel supplied by the natural gas thus obtained is the cheapest and best known to civilization, and the value of the natural-gas deposit to the state and to its citizens is many millions of dollars; that since the discovery of said gas deposit in 1886 immense sums of money have come into the state and have been invested in large manufacturing interests, and other vast sums of money belonging to the people of the state of Indiana have been invested in similar enterprises, causing a great increase in the population, principally in the territory underlying which said gas is found. Many cities in and adjacent to the gas territory, including those named, are wholly dependent for fuel upon natural gas, and for that reason the people of the state of Indiana have become and are interested in the protection and continued preservation of the natural gas supply; that many millions of dollars invested in manufacturing and other properties in and near said gas territory are wholly dependent for their continued preservation and for the permanent value of their property upon said natural gas supply; that their location and establishment in said gas territory was due to the presence of natural gas underlying the same, without which such enterprises could not operate at a profit, and that in the event the supply of gas should be exhausted in said territory many of such manufacturing enterprises, in which thousands of the citizens of Indiana find employment at remunerative wages, will be compelled to stop operation.

'That their employees will be thereby thrown out of employment, and many of them, being dependent upon their labor for support, may and will become charges upon the state and its several municipal subdivisions; that the property of said manufacturing enterprises and the vast investments depending upon them and related to them will become worthless and the owners will be driven to remove to other parts of the country, taking away from Indiana great wealth now interested in said enterprises as aforesaid.

'That in the cities named and in all the territory known as the 'gas belt' the inhabitants have for years used practically no other fuel than natural gas; that their houses have, in many instances, been constructed with a view to the use of such fuel, and will have to be differently equipped before other kinds of fuel can be used; that the cost of natural gas as fuel to the people of the 'gas belt,' who number several hundreds of thousands, is very much less than that of any other fuel that has ever been or can be procured by them, and that to the other inhabitants of the state using said natural gas it has become and is a source of great convenience, comfort, and increased happiness, because of its cheapness, convenience, and cleanliness as fuel.

'That many small villages in and near the gas territory have within a few years become flourishing and opulent cities.

'That the state's wealth and its revenues derived from taxation on account of such increased population and the various interests that have been fostered and supported by natural gas have been greatly increased, and will, in the event natural gas gives out, be correspondingly curtailed.

'That the state of Indiana, relying upon the permanent supply of natural gas, has at great expense equipped many of its public institutions, including the state house, the Central and other hospitals for the insane, the asylums for the blind and deaf and dumb, the institution for the care of orphans of American soldiers, and other public institutions owned and maintained by the state of Indiana and its various municipal subdivisions, together with the courthouses in many counties, and a vast number of public schools, for the use of naturl gas as a fuel, by which the cost of maintaining the public buildings and institutions above named has been materially lessened and the comfort and happiness of their inmates and occupants immensely increased.

'That the supply of natural gas underlying the territory aforesaid is so placed in such Trenton rock that the diminution or consumption of said gas taken from said reservoir affects and reduces correspondingly the common supply.

'That if the gas supply is husbanded and protected it will last for many years and continue to furnish the various cities named with obundant fuel, and the population, wealth, and other material interests of the state will continue to be benefited and enhanced, and the comfort, happiness, and enjoyment of the people of the state greatly increased.

'That underlying a portion of said natural gas territory and at the same levels, occupying the interstices-said Trenton rock in common with said gas, are large quantities of petroleum oil; and that, because of the volatile character of said gas and the pressure under which it is confined in said Trenton rock when said reservoir is tapped by wells drilled into the same from the surface of the earth, said gas and oil will and do escape into the open air in great volumes, unless securely confined in tanks or other proper receptacles.

'That on or about the 25th day of May, 1897, said defendant, the Ohio Oil Company, drilled, near the city of Alexandria, in said Madison county, a number of wells into said gas and oil bearing rock, producing natural gas and petroleum as aforesaid in large quantities, which wells are known by the name of the land owner upon whose land they are situated, which name and the description of said wells are as follows, to wit.'

The complaint then enumerated five gas and oil wells which had been opened and were being operated by the defendant for extracting oil, and averred as follows:

'That instead of securely anchoring said wells and each of them when so drilled, so as to confine within the same or within tanks or pipes or other safe receptacles the natural gas produced therefrom within two days after said wells were respectively completed and gas and oil were struck therein, the said defendants, ever since the completion of said wells, all of which have been completed for periods varying from four to nine months, have unlawfully permitted the gas produced therein to flow and escape into the open air, whereby many millions of cubic feet of natural gas have been greatly diminished, and the property of its citizens in and near said gas territory dependent upon the continued supply of said natural gas for fuel, as aforesaid, has been greatly damaged and decreased in value.

'That the defendants and each of them avow their purpose to permit said gas to escape continuously and indefinitely hereafter from such wells, and refuse to make any effort to confine the same, but declare their purpose to drill other wells in said gas territory and permit the gas therefrom to flow and escape into the open air, and that if said gas continues to flow said wells the supply of natural gas upon which the citizens of said state depend, as aforesaid, will be greatly diminished; that the pressure of said gas, as found in said Trenton rock, will be greatly diminished, and that by the diminution of said pressure water will accumulate in said rock stratum and ultimately entirely displace and overcome said gas supply.

'Plaintiff therefore says that, because of the wrongful acts of defendants above described, heretofore committed and now continuing its property and that of its citizens has been and will continue to be essentially interfered with, and the comfortable enjoyment of the lives of its citizens greatly interrupted.'

Averring the irreparable injury to result from allowing the wells to continue to flow, as stated, the inadequacy of the enforcement of the penalties provided in the statute to meet the evil complained of, and the fact that a multiplicity of suits would be engendered if the writ of injunction prayed for was not issued, the bill charged— 'That the value of the gas wasted by permitting said several wells to remain open each day is of great value, and that, in addition to the value of the same, the whole gas territory or field is greatly damaged by permitting said wells to remain open, in that what is known as 'back pressure,' resulting from the confinement of said gas, is in a great measure relieved and destroyed when said gas is liberated in the manner aforesaid, and that said back pressure is necessary throughout said field in order to prevent the flow of water into said rock stratum and the consequent displacement of the gas therein contained; that, for the protection of said gas supply from the invasion of salt water, it is necessary that in the use of gas from wells drilled into said reservoir only a fraction of the entire volume of said wells should be used, to the end that the back pressure shall be maintained at as high a pressure as possible, and that any other or freer method of using said gas has a tendency to expose the same to danger of salt water, as aforesaid.'

The prayer was as follows:

'And plaintiff therefore prays that a temporary order issue forthwith from this court prohibiting, restraining, and enjoining said defendant, its agents, servants, and employees, from further suffering or permitting the natural gas produced in said wells or any of them, or any part thereof, to longer eacape therefrom, and that said defendant be ordered, directed, and commanded forthwith with to securely confine the same either by anchoring each of said wells or by confining the gas produced therefrom in tanks, pipes, or other proper receptacles, and that failing or refusing so to do the sheriff of Madison county be ordered and directed forthwith to procure necessary materials and labor, and thereby anchor, secure, and confine the natural gas produced from said wells and each of them, and that the expense of so doing be taxed as part of the costs of this suit.

'And the plaintiff further prays that upon the final hearing of this cause said defendant company, its officers, servants, agents, and employees, be perpetually enjoined and prohibited from further suffering said gas to escape, and that they be forever thereafter commanded to confine said gas safely and securely in pipes, tanks, or other proper receptacles, and for all proper relief.' The temporary injunction issued as prayed for. The defendant appeared and demurred to the complaint as not stating a cause of action. This was overruled. The defendant then answered as follows:

'The defendant, further answering, says that before and at the commencement of this action it had in good faith been and then was engaged in the business of producing oil by drilling therefor in the earth and rock below in said county of Madison, and that in the carrying on of said business it has expended many thousands of dollars in the leasing of territory, the purchase of machinery and equipment thereof, and for the drilling of a number of wells and for pipes and pipe lines, all of which it then owned and still owns.

'The defendant admits that it drilled the well complained of herein, but says that said well was so drilled in good faith solely for the purpose of raising and producing oil, the defendant not being engaged in the business of producing or transporting natural gas in said county and having there no plant for that purpose, and such gas in such case being of no value to defendant, and there being reasonable grounds to believe that oil existed in said territory in sufficiently paying quantities to be utilized.

'That said well complained of was not drilled in or near any village, town, or city, but, on the contrary, was drilled in the country and remote from any dwelling, and the same, as so constructed and operated, is not dangerous to life or property.

'That said well was so drilled and completed, oil was found therein in paying quantities, and the defendant proceeded to and did save and utilize the same, paying to the land owner the stipulated royalties therefor, and so operated the same with knowledge, approbation, and consent of such land owner, and was so operating the same solely as an oil well and in entire good faith at the time of the commencement of this action; all of which was so done under and by virtue of a lease to defendant by the owner of said land granted before the commencement of this suit, under which lease defendant owns all the gas and oil in said well and under said land, and said well is of great value as an oil well.

'That in said well and in the same strata of rock whence such oil was produced there were also found at said time quantities of natural gas, which by its own pressure escaped through said pipes and into the open air, said pipes being the same as the ones through which said oil was produced and saved, and in so saving such oil defendant utilized such gas as power, force, and agency to raise said oil from the rock-bearing strata below the surface of the ground, such being the usual, natural, and ordinary method of raising and saving oil in such cases.

'And the defendant further says that no machinery or process of any kind has ever by the highest skill been devised or known to the world whereby in such a case the oil in such well can be produced and saved, unless at the same time such natural gas as may be in such well is suffered to escape, and the defendant charges the fact to be, therefore, that if such gas shall be shut into such well in such case that it will be impossible to raise or produce oil in any such well, and thereby defendant's said business, together with its said plant, property, and profits, will be entirely destroyed and the people of said county and state will be deprived of the use and profits of such oil, which is vastly of more value than natural gas in said well; and the defendant says it so operated said well with the highest skill, with the most improved machinery and appliances known to the world, and with employees of the highest skill, and that no more gas was suffered to escape from such well than was consistent with the due operation of said well with the highest skill.

'The defendant further alleges that for many months before the completion of said well it was openly and publicly engaged in acquiring territory, in equipping said plant, in constructing such oil lines, and in incurring the liabilities and paying the money therefor, as hereinbefore alleged, all with the knowledge and acquiescence of the plaintiff and with no notice or knowledge whatever to or on the part of defendant that it would not be allowed to operate such well or wells until after the said money had been so expended and after said well had been so completed.

'That in the territory where said well complained of is situated there are a number of paying oil wells, owned and operated by various persons and corporations, and said field, when properly developed, may reasonably be expected to be a large one for the production of oil, which will be and is of great value to the people of said county.'

Referring to the law of Indiana, the context of which has already been stated, the answer contained this averment:

'This defendant further alleges that said act of the general assembly of the state of Indiana, as above set out, violates the [[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|[[Additional amendments to the United States Constitution#Amendment XIV|Fourteenth Amendment]]]]]]]]]] of the Constitution of the United States in this, that it deprives the defendant and others of liberty and property without due process of law, and denies to defendant and others the equal protection of the laws.'

The state demurred to the answer as not alleging facts sufficient to constitute a defense. This demurrer was sustained. The defendant refusing to answer further, a decree granting a permanent injunction was entered. An appeal having been prosecuted to the supreme court of the state of Indiana, in that court the decree of the trial court was in all respects affirmed. 150 Ind. 698, 50 N. E. 1125. This writ of error was thereupon allowed.

Messrs. M. F. Elliott and George Shirts for plaintiff in error.

Messrs. C. C. Shirley, W. L. Taylor, and Merrill Moores for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice White, after making the foregoing statement, delivered the opinion of the court:

Notes