## Facts

- C. W. Kennedy, Jr. owned a 339-acre tract in Houston County, Texas.
- Skelly Oil Company hired General Geophysical Company to conduct seismic exploration in the area using drilled holes, explosives, and recording instruments to measure vibrations.
- Kennedy refused permission for defendants to “shoot” on his land or along an adjoining road unless paid.
- The trial court found defendants did not enter Kennedy’s tract, place shot holes or instruments on it, or use it for the seismic work.
- The trial court also found the seismic data obtained concerned subsurface structures of other tracts, not Kennedy’s land.
- Kennedy sued for damages, alleging the explosions’ vibrations constituted a trespass and that defendants acted willfully and maliciously, warranting exemplary damages.

## Issues

1. Whether vibrations from off-tract seismic explosions, without physical entry onto the plaintiff’s land, constitute actionable trespass.
2. Whether the evidence supported exemplary damages based on malice or willful misconduct.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed a take-nothing judgment for defendants.
- The court held no actionable trespass occurred because there was no physical entry or physical invasion of Kennedy’s land as found by the trial court.
- The court held exemplary damages were unavailable because there was no proof of malice or willful wrongdoing, and no underlying tort was established.

## Legal Principles

- Under Texas law, a trespass claim based on geophysical or seismic operations generally requires an actual physical entry or physical invasion of the plaintiff’s land.
- Offsite seismic blasting vibrations, without physical entry and without proof of resulting physical harm attributable to the operations, do not amount to trespass.
- Exemplary damages require evidence of malice or willful, wrongful conduct and are not recoverable absent an actionable underlying wrong.

## Conclusion

Because the seismic work was conducted off the plaintiff’s tract and did not involve physical entry, and because the record supported findings of no malice and no taking of information specific to the plaintiff’s land, the court affirmed judgment for defendants on both trespass and exemplary-damages theories.


Kennedy v. Gen. Geophysical Co., 213 S.W.2d 707 (Tex. Civ. App. 1948)