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We all have legal duties. Some arise from contracts that we choose to enter. Others are spelled out in statutes or regulations. Still others are imposed by the common law. One of the most basic common law duties is the duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid injury to others. What constitutes reasonable care varies depending on the specific facts and circumstances of each case. It is often an issue that a jury must decide only after a trial where both sides have an opportunity to present their side of the case. As one oil and gas company learned last week, reasonable care may require you to call before you dig (see Northern Natural Gas Co. v. American Warrior, Inc., Case No. 25-1120, 2026 WL 828722 (D. Kansas Mar. 26, 2026)).
In that case, the defendant drilled a guy-line anchor in the vicinity of a gas pipeline without calling the pipeline owner first. Upon learning of the drilling activities, the pipeline operator shut down the gas flow within the pipeline and inspected it for damage. While the anchor had luckily missed the pipeline (by 10 inches), the pipeline operator nonetheless sued to recover costs associated with reducing flow and inspecting the pipe for damage.
The defendant sought to dismiss the claim on various grounds, including that the applicable statute, the Kansas Underground Utility Prevention Act, only required notification by parties engaged in excavation activities, and it expressly exempts activities related to oil production. The court agreed that the statute did not apply to the defendant's activities but nonetheless held that whether the defendant complied with its common law duty to exercise reasonable care was a question for the jury. The defendant must now defend a lawsuit that it may have otherwise avoided if it had heeded the familiar refrain: Call Before You Dig!
A copy of the court's opinion is located here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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