Akers v. Baldwin
Kentucky Supreme Court
736 S.W.2d 294 (1987)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
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.)
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