Severns Drilling Co. v. Superior Court

SEVERNS DRILLING COMPANY, LTD. (a Corporation), Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY et al., Respondents.

COUNSEL

Chandler, Wright & Ward, Swaffield & Swaffield and Howard W. Wright for Petitioner.

Everett W. Mattoon, County Counsel, D. De Coster, Deputy County Counsel, Lawler & Felix and Oscar Lawler for Respondents.

OPINION

The Court.

This is an application for a writ of prohibition to restrain the respondent court from enforcing its order authorizing an inspection and survey of an oil well owned and operated by petitioner.

[1] An examination of the record before us discloses that the trial court had jurisdiction to mauthorize and require the survey of petitioner's oil well. (Union Oil Co. of California v. Reconstruction Oil Co et al., 4 Cal. 2d 541 [51 PaCal.2d 81].)

Therefore since the trial court had jurisdiction to make and enter, its order, the writ of prohibition must be denied. [15 Cal. App. 2d 282] The rule is well settled that the sole province of a writ of prohibition is to arrest proceedings of a tribunal or persons exercising judicial functions, when without or in excess of jurisdiction. (County of Sutter v. Superior Court of California, 188 Cal. 292, 295 [204 P. 849].)

The application for a writ of prohibition is denied and the alternative writ is vacated and quashed.