Severns Drilling Co. v. Superior Court

16 Cal.App.2d 435 (1936) SEVERNS DRILLING COMPANY, LTD. (a Corporation), Petitioner,

v.

SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY et al., Respondents.

Civ. No. 11026. California Court of Appeals. Second Appellate District, Division Two.

September 8, 1936. Chandler, Wright & Ward, Jefferson P. Chandler, Howard W. Wright, Roland G. Swaffield and John F. Gilbert for Petitioner.

Lawler & Felix, Oscar Lawler, Everett W. Mattoon, County Counsel, and Douglas DeCoster, Deputy County Counsel, for Respondents.

Gould, J., pro tem.

This is an application for a stay of the issuance and transmission of the remittitur from this court to the superior court.

Severns Drilling Company, Ltd., commenced the drilling of an oil well on August 23, 1933. Standard Oil Company of California commenced an action against Severns Drilling Company, Ltd., on or about December 13, 1935, asking for an accounting and an injunction, alleging that the Severns company had intentionally deflected its oil well into lands held under lease by the Standard company. Upon the petition of the Standard company the superior court on May 15, 1936, issued an order permitting the making of the survey by plaintiff of the oil well of the Severns company and for this purpose permitted a derrick to be erected and the tubing removed from the well, which at all times has been and is a producing well. Thereupon the Severns company filed in this court a petition for a writ of certiorari asking that the order for the survey be annulled on the ground it is in violation of the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in that as claimed, it constitutes the taking of the property of the Severns company without compensation and without due process of law. This court issued an alternative writ on May 18, 1936, requiring the respondent court to certify to this court its records in the matter and ordering the superior court to show cause why it should not be restrained from enforcing the order for the survey. On July 8, 1936, this court denied the petition of the Severns company and vacated [437] the alternative writ. On August 27, 1936, the Supreme Court denied a petition of the Severns company for a hearing before that tribunal.