Pennsylvania Central Brewing Co. v. Lehigh Valley Coal Co.

Citations

• 250 Pa. 300
• 95 A. 471
• 1915 Pa. LEXIS 940

Syllabus

<p>Mines and mining — Bights of surface owner — Access to strata beneath coal — Artesian well — Destruction of well — Case for fury.</p> <p>1. The owner of land, who has conveyed to another the underlying coal, is entitled to access to the strata beneath the coal, and is entitled to sink an artesian well through the coal strata for the purpose of obtaining water.</p> <p>2. In an action against a coal mining company, which owned the coal underlying the plaintiff’s land, to recover damages for the destruction of an artesian well through the coal strata for the purpose of supplying water to plaintiff’s brewery, the case was for the jury and a verdict for plaintiff was sustained where it appeared that the well was eight inches in diameter and was cased with an iron pipe and cement; that defendant was informed of the location of the well and when about to mine the coal around it offered to leave the coal in place if defendant would pay for it, which plaintiff declined to do; that the evidence justified the inference that in mining the coal the pipe and the casing of the well were negligently destroyed by the defendant; and that subsequently plaintiff requested permission to enter the mine and repair the pipe, but was refused.</p>