Bayou Land Co. v. Talley

In this case we granted petitions for cer-tiorari prior to judgment by the court of appeals primarily to determine the nature of an overlying landowner’s interest in unadju-dicated nontributary ground water. We now conclude that landowners do have a right to withdraw nontributary ground water underlying their land even in the absence of formal water court adjudication. This right is defined by statute and is presumed to be con veyed by a deed for the land unless excepted from that deed by express reservation.

This case concerns a series of land transactions involving the plaintiff, Bayou Land…