Property Law Keyed to Cribbet
Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Plaintiff sued the Defendant to prevent the mining of coal under Plaintiff’s house. The mining removed the supports and caused the house to subsist. Plaintiff contends that the Act eliminates any rights the Defendant might have had. The lower state court found that the Act was not constitutional as applied to this Defendant even though the potential injury claimed by Plaintiff is the type of injury the Act seeks to prevent. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania found that the Defendant did have contract and property rights, which were protected by the United States Constitution, however, the Act was constitutional as a legitimate exercise of the police power by the state. Defendant appealed.
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