Pennsylvania Act 1957-431 — REQUIRING THAT NOTICE BE GIVEN - MINE OPERATION REMOVE SUPPORT UNDERGROUND

Act text

REQUIRING THAT NOTICE BE GIVEN - MINE OPERATION REMOVE SUPPORT
                               UNDERGROUND
                 Act of Jul. 17, 1957, P.L. 984, No. 431              Cl. 52
                                  AN ACT

     Requiring that notice of any prior or contemporaneous severance
        of coal or the right of surface support from the surface be
        set forth in a certain manner in every deed, agreement of
        sale, title insurance policy, or other instrument in writing,
        which sells, conveys, transfers, releases, quitclaims, or
        agrees to sell, convey, transfer, release, or quitclaim, or
        insures or agrees to insure title to the surface of land, and
        providing for the effect upon the vendor, grantor,
        transferor, releasor or person who quitclaims or insures
        title or agrees to do any of the foregoing, for noncompliance
        therewith.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

        Section 1.  (a)  Every deed, agreement of sale, title
     insurance policy and other instrument in writing, except a
     mortgage, a quitclaim deed or an agreement to convey by
     quitclaim, hereafter executed and delivered with respect to the
     surface of land and for the purpose of selling, conveying,
     transferring, agreeing to sell, convey, or transfer, or for
     insuring or agreeing to insure the title to said surface of
     land, shall, if any of the conditions of subsection (b) of this
     section are present, include therein, set forth entirely either
     in capital letters or in type or writing distinctively different
     from the balance of the instrument or set apart from the balance
     of the instrument by underlining, a prominent notice either in
     the form of one of the following paragraphs or else in a form
     which is essentially the same as and which expresses precisely
     the same meaning and notice as one of said following paragraphs:
        (1)  "This document may not sell, convey, transfer, include
     or insure the title to the coal and right of support underneath
     the surface land described or referred to herein, and the owner
     or owners of such coal may have the complete legal right to
     remove all of such coal and, in that connection, damage may
     result to the surface of the land and any house, building or
     other structure on or in such land. The inclusion of this notice
     does not enlarge, restrict or modify any legal rights or estates
     otherwise created, transferred, excepted or reserved by this
     instrument."
        (2)  "This document does not sell, convey, transfer, include
     or insure the title to the coal and right of support underneath
     the surface land described or referred to herein, and the owner
     or owners of such coal have the complete legal right to remove
     all of such coal and, in that connection, damage may result to
     the surface of the land and any house, building or other
     structure on or in such land. The inclusion of this notice does
     not enlarge, restrict or modify any legal rights or estates
     otherwise created, transferred, excepted or reserved by this
     instrument."
        (b)  The notice prescribed by subsection (a) of this section
     must be included in each of the following cases:
        (1)  If there is, or has been, a prior severance of record
     either of any coal underneath any part of the surface referred
     to in subsection (a) of section 1 hereof, or of any part of the
     right of surface support derived from or in connection with any
     of the said coal; or
        (2)  If there is, or has been, a prior severance not of
     record either of any coal underneath any part of the surface
     referred to in subsection (a) of section 1 hereof, or of any
     part of the right of surface support derived from or in
     connection with any of said coal, and the person, firm or entity
     who, or which, sells, conveys, transfers, insures title or
     agrees to do any of those things has notice of, or reason to
     know of, such severance; or
        (3)  If there is a contemporaneous severance whether or not
     of record of any coal underneath any part of the surface
     referred to in subsection (a) of section 1 hereof, or of any
     part of the right of surface support derived from or in
     connection with any of said coal.
        (1 amended Sept. 10, 1965, P.L.505, No.255)
        Section 2.  If subsection (a) of section 1 of this act is
     applicable, then the person, firm or entity who or which, alone
     or together with others, sells, conveys, transfers or insures
     the title to the surface of land by an instrument in writing, or
     agrees in writing, to do any of the foregoing, without including
     the notice prescribed by subsection (a) of section 1 of this
     act, shall be liable in damages to the grantee, purchaser,
     insured or other party to the instrument in an action in
     assumpsit, based upon implied contract, to the same extent as if
     there was expressly included in the instrument in writing an
     agreement and assurance that all coal underneath the surface
     described of referred to in such instrument in writing and the
     complete right to surface support derived from or in connection
     with said coal were included in the property sold, conveyed,
     transferred, agreed to be sold, conveyed, or transferred, or to
     which the title was insured or agreed to be insured. Failure to
     comply with the provisions of section 1 of this act shall not
     create, convey, transfer, enlarge, impair or otherwise affect
     any right to or waiver of surface support or any title to land
     or any other estate or interest in land, and shall not impair or
     otherwise affect any waiver or release of damages or any
     immunity from liability or damages other than by giving rise to
     a cause of action as hereinabove specifically provided.
        (2 amended Sept. 10, 1965, P.L.505, No.255)
        Section 3.  The provisions of this act may not be waived in
     any manner whatsoever.
        Section 4.  Nothing contained in this act shall be construed
     to affect in any way whatsoever any waiver of surface support,
     any release from damages or any other title, right, estate,
     interest, liability or exoneration, from liability created,
     granted, excepted, reserved or otherwise dealt with in any deed,
     agreement of sale, title insurance policy or other instrument in
     writing, which was executed or delivered prior to the effective
     date of this act.
        Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1958.