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Legal Remedies for "Cloud-Seeding" Activities: Nuisance or Trespass?

1960; Duke University School of Law; Volume: 1960; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1370980

1939-9111

Digital Transformation in Law

THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONof liability for "cloud-seeding" has been decided at the appellate-court level for the first time.' The decision, Southwest Weather Research, Inc. v. Duncan, 2 attaims added significance in that it delineates the landowner's rights in the rain clouds above his land and circumscribes the applicable remedy.In this case the defendants 3 "seeded" clouds 4 over and in the vicinity of the plaintiffs' pfoperty to prevent hail storms.The plaintiffs filed a bill to enjoin this activity, alleging that it resulted in decreased rainfall over their land.The trial court, after hearing witnesses 5 testify that they had observed the dissipation of rain clouds following the "seeding," temporarily enjoined the activity in the vicinity of plaintiffs' property.The appellate court airmed the decision, 6 but modified the injunction to prohibit weather modification only in the area directly above plaintiffs' land. 7'There have been five previous cases involving weather modification: Reeve v.