Stearns Co. v. United States

OPINION

SMITH, Senior Judge.

Introduction

Plaintiff originally owned valuable coal, which it intended to mine. It also owned the surface land. After selling the surface land to the federal government in 1937, reserving its coal and mineral rights, plaintiff continued to mine the property for many years. In doing this it complied with all federal and state mining and environmental regulations. Under Kentucky law, coal is a dominant estate. This means that the coal owner has the right to mine, with underground mines, despite the wishes of the surface owner. In fact, the surface owner must take no…