Householder v. Quemahoning Coal Co.

Citations

• 272 Pa. 78
• 116 A. 40
• 1922 Pa. LEXIS 777

Syllabus

<p>Mines and mining — Surface support — Release—Damages—Covenants — Injury to water supply — Drilling well for water — Care of well — Negligence—Evidence—Presumption—Equity maxim — Sic uiere tuo.</p> <p>1. The owner of an entire estate may, in conveying, relieve the owner of the mineral estate from the duty to support the surface and from liability for any injury or damages by mining and removing coal.</p> <p>2. Where in such case the grantee simply removes coal, it is not improper mining; even if such removal is negligently done, there can be no recovery.</p> <p>3. Where a conveyance of coal provides that if the removal of the coal destroys a water supply of a building on the surface, the grantee shall bore a well and ease it to a certain depth, and it appears that the successor in title to the grantee drilled and cased a well, and that thereafter the casings were broken and destroyed in mining operations to 'the destruction of the water supply, the court, in an action against the owner of the coal for damages, commits reversible error if it charges that defendant was required to refrain from all acts which would interfere with, injure or destroy the well.</p> <p>4. In such case, defendant owes the owner of the surface only the duty of refraining from negligent acts, which might injure the well.</p> <p>5. The maxim that one must so use his own property as not to injure another has reference not to the mere infliction of damage but to the violation of a right and means only that one must so use his own as not to violate a legal right of another.</p> <p>6. Where coal is being mined solely by one person from underlying strata owned by him, the presumption is, when the coal is removed, the owner removes it, although done by his employees; and if there is evidence, such as breaking, subsidence and other conditions, to indicate that coal was being removed, there is a sufficient connection between defendant and acts resulting in an injury to the surface from the mining of