New Shawmut Mining Co. v. Gordon

Dissenting Opinion by

Mr. Justice Musmanno:

The decision of this Court, speaking through a majority of the Justices, is an enigma, a baffling puzzle, and an inexplicable judgment. This Court condones the action of a court of common pleas which repudiates a decision of this Court. It then goes further and pins a bouquet on the lower court for its act of defiance by adopting the lower court’s opinion as its own.

Let us briefly survey the history, the facts and the law involved in this litigation.

Seven years ago we had before us in Highland v. Commonwealth, 400 Pa. 261, a trustees’ (Richey) deed…