Kowalsky v. S & J Operating Company

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

SCOTT M. MATHESON, JR., Circuit Judge.

Kristopher and Michelle Kowalsky (“the Kowalskys”), a husband and wife, sued S & J Operating Co. (“S & J”), alleging that S & J’s use and deficient plugging of a saltwater disposal well in the late 1980s damaged the Kowalskys’ property. In 2005, while renting the land from Mr. Kowalsky’s mother, the Kowalskys noticed changes to the property and asked the Kansas Corporation Commission (the “KCC”) to evaluate the land. The KCC found subsidence and told the Kowalskys it was unlikely to get worse. But the subsidence worsened. The hole…