Philson v. Wills

Citations

• 255 Pa. 613
• 100 A. 463
• 1917 Pa. LEXIS 504

Syllabus

<p>Trespass — Mines and mining — Unlawful removal of coal — Case for jury — Independent contractor — Agency.</p> <p>In an action to recover damages for the unlawful mining and removal of coal from plaintiff’s land, where the defendant set up that the coal was mined by an independent contractor, and it appeared that defendant was the owner of the coal underlying an adjoining tract of land to that of plaintiff subject to a royalty; that the person who was mining defendant’s coal had mined coal from plaintiff’s land and carried it to the surface through defendant’s</p> <p>Syllabus — Opinion of the Court. [255 Pa,</p> <p>mine; that defendant paid the royalty on the coal mined on plaintiff's property to the person from whom he acquired title to his own mine; that when plaintiff demanded compensation for the coal taken, defendant did not disclaim responsibility on any other ground than that he had already paid the royalty on the coal to the owner of the adjoining tract, and there was evidence that during the period covered by the trespass, the person who mined the coal was the superintendent of defendant’s mine, it was for the jury to determine whether such superintendent acted as defendant’s agent in unlawfully mining plaintiff’s coal, and the jury having found a verdict for plaintiff, it was error to enter judgment for defendant n. o. v.</p>