Akers v. Baldwin

736 S.W.2d 294 (1987)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Akers v. Baldwin

Kentucky Supreme Court
736 S.W.2d 294 (1987)

Facts

A broad-form deed is a real estate instrument that severs the mineral estate in a tract of land from the surface estate. This type of deed grants the mineral owner the right to all minerals under the surface and generous rights to damage the surface while extracting minerals. When broad-form deeds were introduced in Kentucky, they were used to obtain rights for underground coal mining, which caused limited damage to the surface of land. Later, strip mining became a popular method of extracting coal. Strip mining caused extensive damage to the surface of land. In 1984, Kentucky enacted KRS 381.930 et seq., a statute creating a presumption that the parties to a broad-form deed intended for coal to be extracted via the mining method commonly used in the area in question at the time the deed was signed. Pursuant to this statute, Akers and other surface owners (plaintiffs) sought an injunction in federal district court to prevent the state from issuing strip-mining permits to owners of mineral rights obtained through broad-form deeds if (1) the deed did not explicitly authorize strip mining and (2) the surface owner objected to the use of strip mining. The district court certified the question of the statute’s constitutionality to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Stephens, C.J.)

Concurrence (Vance, J.)

Concurrence/Dissent (Stephenson, J.)

Dissent (Lambert, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership