Benjamin F. Forbell, Respondent v. the City of New York, Appellant

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts' judgment that the City of New York’s pumping of subsurface water from the plaintiff’s land constituted a trespass, granting a perpetual injunction and damages. The court rejected the traditional rule denying liability for underground water diversion, holding that the defendant’s extensive and unreasonable extraction caused direct injury to the plaintiff’s agricultural use.