Opinion ID: 2620371
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trespass by Subsidence

Text: To show trespass by subsidence, a landowner plaintiff must show (1) the -9- defendant committed an act that (2) resulted in an intrusion upon the surface of the land, (3) which interfered with the surface owner's right to exclusive possession and enjoyment of the land. See Nida v. Am. Rock Crusher Co., 855 P.2d 81, 86-87 (Kan. 1993). The act occurs when the offending party removes land support (lateral or subjacent) so that “the earth is so much disturbed that it slides or falls.” Kan. City N.W.R. Co. v. Schwake, 78 P. 431, 433 (Kan. 1904); see also Nida, 855 P.2d at 83. The intrusion on the land’s surface is allowing the surface to fall. Nida, 855 P.2d at 84 (“[T]he actionable wrong is not the excavation, but the act of allowing the other’s land to fall.” (quotations omitted)). The interference with rights is the subsidence and associated damage. Id. (“In a trespass action, the intrusion and the interference and the occurrence of damage are concurrent.”). Although the act of removing the land support may have happened long ago, the trespass does not occur until the land actually subsides. See id at 87. (“[T]he subjacent support right entitles a surface owner to damages when injury to the surface actually occurs.”); Audo v. W. Coal & Mining Co., 162 P. 344, 347 (Kan. 1917) (“Until the land subsided the plaintiff sustained no damage and had no cause of action.”); Schwake, 78 P. at 433 (same).