Maddocks v. Giles

[¶ 1] Sewall and Janice Maddocks appeal from the entry of judgment in the Superior Court (Lincoln County, Bradford, J.) after a jury verdict finding that Elbridge Giles’ excavation activities on his land did not interfere with the flow of an underground watercourse benefitting the Maddoekses’ land. The Mad-dockses argue that the trial court erred by instructing the jury on the absolute dominion rule, and they' urge us to adopt a new rule governing groundwater usage. We decline to adopt a new rule, and we affirm the judgment.

[¶ 2] The Maddoekses own property adjacent to a gravel pit owned by…