Jones v. Shatina

This action involves the title to 80 acres of raw land near Black Diamond valued at $96,000.

With the permission of the landowner, John C. Jones first began prospecting on the tract in the early 1930’s. He and *874his partner worked weekends, vacations, and days when they were laid off from their regular jobs as coal miners. His first partner in the project was killed by the cave-in of a shaft they had dug. Jones then took in Valentine Shatina as his partner. After Jones and Shatina had worked together for about 6 months, Davies, the landowner, told them they would have to buy the land if they…