We accidentally drilled our well on the neighbors property. We were 6' beyond our property line. The well drillers truck broke down, after he put it where he wanted to drill and before he started drilling, and could not drill for the first 5 or 6 days. The neighbors never told us the spot he was going to be drilling at was on their property. The neighbors waited until the day the well driller hit water to tell us we had drilled the well on their property. We researched it, had a surveyor come out and conceeded we had made a mistake and it was on their property. We asked about them giving us an easement or could we buy one and they said 'no, they wanted to keep the well' even tho' they already have a well that gets 45 GPM.
We are part of a development and we learned there is a utility easement already in place where the well is located (along the side of the road). The neighbors told us they do not feel the utility easement is valid (even tho' they signed all the paperwork showing the utility easement the same as all of us residents up here) so they will fight us if we try to tie into the well. We live in Oregon and I am wondering if we have any recourse here? They have claimed to other neighbors that the well belongs to them but they have never reimbursed us for any drilling costs. One neighbor mentioned that we could go to court and force them to reimburse us because of a law called Unjust Enrichment. Does anyone know anything about that? Or, do we have the right to abandon that well? Thank you.
We are part of a development and we learned there is a utility easement already in place where the well is located (along the side of the road). The neighbors told us they do not feel the utility easement is valid (even tho' they signed all the paperwork showing the utility easement the same as all of us residents up here) so they will fight us if we try to tie into the well. We live in Oregon and I am wondering if we have any recourse here? They have claimed to other neighbors that the well belongs to them but they have never reimbursed us for any drilling costs. One neighbor mentioned that we could go to court and force them to reimburse us because of a law called Unjust Enrichment. Does anyone know anything about that? Or, do we have the right to abandon that well? Thank you.