McDaniel v. City of Cherryvale

Citations

• 91 Kan. 40
• 136 P. 899
• 1913 Kan. LEXIS 332

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Pollution op Stream — Concurrent Wrongdoers — Liability— Joint and Several. When two or more persons, by their concurrent action, pollute a stream to the injury of another through whose land the stream flows, they are jointly and severally liable for the wrongdoing, and the injured party may, at his eption, institute an action and recover against one or all of those contributing to his injury.</p> <p>2. Pollution of Stream — City Sewer — Refuse from Oil Refinery — Limitation of Actions. A city built a sewer system and discharged sewage into a creek, and about the same time another party built an oil refinery and drained waste water, acids, oils and other impurities into the same stream. The impurities deposited in the stream from these sources polluted the water to some extent at the beginning and injuriously affected an owner’s land through which the stream flowed. There was little injury to the land when the rains were abundant and the volume of water in the stream was large, but when the rains diminished and there was little water in the stream the injurious effect’ of the sewage and impurities cast into the stream was greatly increased. More than two years after the sewer system and refinery were built and in operation the landowner brought an action for permanent damages resulting from the pollution of the stream. Held, that as the sewer system and refinery were, in their, nature, design and use, permanent structures and their operation was necessarily a constant and continuous injury to the owner’s land his cause of action for permanent damages accrued when the sewage and impurities were first deposited in the stream, and not having been brought within two years from that time his action was barred.</p>