Legal Definitions - law of capture

The law of capture, also known as the rule of capture, is a legal principle stating that the first person to "capture" a natural resource that is not owned by anyone until it is extracted or possessed, becomes its legal owner. This rule primarily applies to "fugitive" resources, meaning those that move freely beneath the earth or across land and are not confined to a specific property boundary until extracted. Once captured, the resource belongs to the captor, even if it originated from beneath another person's land.

Here are some examples illustrating the law of capture:

• Hunting and Fishing:

  Imagine a licensed angler fishing in a public lake. They cast their line and successfully catch a trout. Under the law of capture, the trout, being a wild animal (a fugitive resource), is not owned by anyone while it swims freely in the lake. Once the angler lawfully catches and takes possession of the trout, they become its legal owner. This principle applies even if the fish had previously swum from a different part of the lake or a connecting stream.

• Oil and Natural Gas Extraction:

  Consider an energy company that owns a lease to drill for oil on a specific parcel of land. They successfully drill a well and begin extracting crude oil from an underground reservoir. This reservoir, however, extends beneath several neighboring properties. The law of capture dictates that the company, by drilling on its own leased land and bringing the oil to the surface, becomes the owner of all the oil it extracts, even if some of that oil originally migrated from beneath an adjacent landowner's property. This principle has led to the development of complex regulations and agreements in the oil and gas industry to manage shared resources and prevent wasteful drilling, but the underlying capture principle remains foundational.

• Groundwater Pumping:

  A homeowner drills a well on their property to supply water for their household and garden. This well draws water from an underground aquifer that also supplies wells on neighboring properties. In many jurisdictions, groundwater is treated as a fugitive resource. The homeowner, by drilling a well and pumping water to the surface, "captures" that water and becomes its owner. This means they can use the water for their legitimate needs, even if their pumping reduces the water available to their neighbors' wells. However, many states have modified this pure capture rule with doctrines like "reasonable use" or "correlative rights" to prevent excessive depletion and ensure more equitable sharing among landowners.