Cunningham v. McConnell

1963 OK 135, 382 P.2d 429, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 402
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJune 4, 1963
DocketNo. 40060
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1963 OK 135 (Cunningham v. McConnell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cunningham v. McConnell, 1963 OK 135, 382 P.2d 429, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 402 (Okla. 1963).

Opinion

BERRY, Justice.

This action, originally brought by A. F. Bradfield, now deceased, revived prior to trial in his Executrix, Emma Bradfield, and later revived again in Emma Bradfield’s Executor, proceeded to trial on the amended petition of Emma Bradfield, herein referred to as plaintiff, to enjoin J. W. McConnell, Jr., herein referred to as defendant, from interfering with the natural flow of surface waters in such a way as to injure plaintiff. Defendant filed cross-petition which is not involved on this appeal.

For the sake of brevity, we will only consider the pleadings and proceedings which are relevant to this appeal. Lena Linkugel intervened as a party plaintiff in the cause below but is not now involved as a party herein.

Plaintiff’s petition alleges that Emma and A. F. Bradfield, husband and wife, have since 1959 been owners and in possession of the NW/4 of Sec. 6, Township 5N, Range 19W, I.M., in Kiowa County, Oklahoma; and that defendant owns the quarter section of land due north of plaintiff’s section and separated therefrom by a county road; that the land immediately north of defendant’s land is “relatively level” and surface water naturally flows on defendant’s land which has “depressions upon it into which water naturally drains and stands” and that normally some water flows from defendant’s land to plaintiff’s land “in moderate amounts at widely diffused points in times of heavy rainfall”; that sometime in 1959 defendant constructed a dam, or levee, on the north boundary of his land which diverted the natural flow of surface water, causing it to concentrate and flow from west to east and to the northeast corner of defendant’s land which in turn resulted in a concentration of the surface waters into a waterway constructed within the east boundary of defendant’s land and then discharged and deposited onto the northeast corner of plaintiff’s land.

Plaintiff alleges that she has received and will continue to receive irreparable damage to her crops and land surface, for which she seeks relief and asks that defendant be enjoined from “maintaining said dikes, dams, or levees” which obstruct the natural flow of surface waters.

Defendant’s answer admits certain allegations but denies that the natural drainage of his property onto the plaintiff’s land was at “widely diffused points”. Defendant alleges “that the natural and historical drainage” of defendant’s land was to his southeast corner, which is the same point that water now flows from defendant’s land; that plaintiff has constructed an unlawful dike beginning at the northeast corner of her premises and running west and parallel-to the county road “to such an extent as to. back up and deter the natural flow of water onto the county road and impounding the same on the land of this defendant”; that “if the plaintiff has suffered any damage”' it is caused by a break in the dike resulting-in “channeling the water onto the land of the plaintiff”; that the removal of the dike-would “diminish or alleviate” any damage-to the plaintiff as the result of the drainage-of surface waters.

Defendant denies any damage to the plaintiff caused by any act on his part.

Plaintiff’s reply admits a small dike had' been built on the northeast corner of her property, but denies that it caused any waters to “back up” onto defendant’s land or that it in any way damaged defendant. Plaintiff asks that in the event she is ordered to remove her dike, then defendant should be ordered to remove his dike on-his north boundary.

The trial court found generally for defendant as against plaintiff’s petition for injunctive relief. From the order overruling plaintiff’s motion for a new trial, plaintiff appeals.

[431]*431In this appeal plaintiff urges two propositions: (1) the decision is not sustained by the law and hence the judgment is contrary to law; and (2) there is no competent evidence supporting the judgment, which is contrary to law and to the evidence. We shall discuss the two propositions as one.

Plaintiff’s evidence tends to show that prior to 1957 surface waters would accumulate after a heavy rain and stand on the Weiss land which adjoins defendant’s property on the north; that the inundation would cover as much as 25 acres of Weiss’s land and would gradually recede and diminish in a few days to an area of about 5 acres which would remain covered by water indefinitely; that in 1957 defendant, with Weiss’s cooperation, removed and leveled the fence row between their properties and constructed a waterway which drained to the east from the northwest corner of defendant’s land to the northeast corner of defendant’s land; that defendant continued the waterway from that point down and inside his fence row to his southeast corner; and that in 1959 defendant widened his east waterway.

Plaintiff’s evidence further tends to show that prior to 1959 the surface waters from defendant’s land drained across in a southeasterly direction and were deposited at his southeast corner, aided to some extent by a borrow ditch running on each side of the county road which separated defendant’s land from that of the plaintiff; that the land in the area looked flat to a casual observer but the drainage pattern could be detected by examining the land surface; that from the northeast corner of defendant’s land to the southeast corner, the elevation changed one “footfall” every 450 feet; that prior to defendant’s widening of his waterway on’ the east border, the surface waters would, after leaving defendant’s premises, travel east beyond plaintiff’s land before continuing south; that thereafter the surface waters concentrated and the flow and drainage increased in velocity to such an extent that it “washed” a “gully” across the road and “punched a hole” and channeled like a “pipeline” some 125 feet west of plaintiff’s northeast corner and cut a “zig zag” course inside the east boundary of plaintiff’s property line and damaged an estimated five acres of plaintiff’s land.

Plaintiff’s evidence also tends to show that a dike or “pile of dirt” had been placed on plaintiff’s northeast corner for the purpose of diverting surface waters from her land; that prior to defendant’s waterways being built the road had washed out but “no more than just ordinarily like what you would call a buffalo wallow. It never washed out bad, no, sir.” Plaintiff tendered to the trial court an offer to remove the dike from her premises.

Defendant’s evidence tends to show that he had cooperated with his neighbor, Weiss, by removing the fence row so that Weiss’s land would drain; that due to farming, the fence rows between their premises had become built up in such a way as to interfere with the natural drainage and cause water to stand and accumulate; that they removed the fence row and scraped a ditch where the fence row was; that it is the same now as it was in 1957; that the east ditch running north and south was first built in 1957 but widened in 1959; that no washing occurred “to speak of” after 1957; that the worst washing of the road occurred in 1959;.

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Bluebook (online)
1963 OK 135, 382 P.2d 429, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 402, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cunningham-v-mcconnell-okla-1963.