Armstrong v. Pinnacle Coal & Coke Co.

Hatcher, Judge :

The plaintiff owns .9 of an acre of surface in Kanawha County. The defendant leases and for a number of years has operated the coal underlying and surrounding plaintiff’s property. During the earlier years of operation the mine was drained through, the drift mouth, which is located three or four hundred feet below plaintiff. As the development of the mine progressed, drainage through the drift mouth became impracticable. In 1921 a shaft was sunk above plaintiff, and the mine water has since been pumped out through the shaft, from which it flows across plaintiff’s lot. Prior to…