Court Jurisdiction, Procedure and Review: Standing; Pleas to the Jurisdiction Injury to Real Property: Standing; Permanent or Temporary Injury

摘要

In 1994, Vee Bar, Ltd. (Vee Bar) buys a ranch located in Ector and Winkler Counties from five Wheeler siblings, each of whom owns an undivided 1/5 interest in the land. Prior to Vee Bar's purchase, multiple oil and gas companies, defendants here, held oil and gas leases on one portion of the ranch. Most of these lessees, however, owned no interest during Vee Bar's period of ownership of the captioned property. In 2006, Vee Bar sues the lessees for temporary and/or permanent injury to 640 acres of the ranch caused by the deposit of various contaminants on the property and seeks recovery of damages, claiming that the oil and gas companies knowingly deposited toxic material that contaminated both the surface waters and aquifers.