Sun Lumber Co. v. Nelson Fuel Co.

106 S.E. 41, 88 W. Va. 61, 1921 W. Va. LEXIS 52
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 22, 1921
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 106 S.E. 41 (Sun Lumber Co. v. Nelson Fuel Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sun Lumber Co. v. Nelson Fuel Co., 106 S.E. 41, 88 W. Va. 61, 1921 W. Va. LEXIS 52 (W. Va. 1921).

Opinion

RlTZ, PRESIDENT:

The appellant complains upon this appeal of a decree of the circuit court of Greenbrier county dissolving a temporary injunction awarded to it inhibiting the defendant from cutting the timber upon a large tract of land which is held by said defendant under a mining lease, the timber on which plaintiff claims belongs to it.

[63]*63In the year 1890 one Charles L. McClung was the owner of a large tract of land, or rather of a number of contiguous tracts, situate in Greenbrier county, and on the fifth day of February of that year he conveyed to M. Erskine Miller and others trustees all of the minerals of every kind upon and under a part of his land said to contain 4046 acres. This deed by its terms, grants and conveys "all of the minerals of every kind in and upon and under that certain tract or parcel of land/’ which is then described by particular metes and bounds, “together with all necessary and convenient rights-of-way of ingress and egres^ in, over and through said land for the purpose of removing said mineral, or minerals, upon other adjacent lands, and also so much of the timber on said lands as may be required for mining said minerals and removing them from said lands.” By another deed dated the 19th of August, 1892, said McClung conveyed to said trustees the mineral under another tract of land, which deed contains the same provision as to rights-of-way and timber as is contained in the deed of February 5, 1890. In 1896 said McClung conveyed to said trustees the minerals under still another tract of land, in which deed the same provisions are again made as to the rights-of-way and timber; and on the same day said trustees conveyed to said McClung a tract of land, which is described in said deed, from which conveyance, however, there is excepted and reserved all the coal and other minerals, and other substances on, in, and underlying said lands, and timber for mining purposes. The trustees who thui^ obtained the title to the minerals underlying the four tracts of land referred to in these deeds held the same for the Gauley Coal Land Company which at that time was a voluntary association, but which subsequently became a corporation, and took the title to the lands in it^ own name. In addition to these McClung lands, this company owns very extensive mineral lands lying not only in Green-brier county, but in some of the adjoining counties. On the 23d of October, 1918, the Gauley Coal Land Company executed to John B. Laing a lease of certain of its lands for mining purposes, the lands acquired by said lessee containing about 2800 acres, about 2000 acres of which is included within the lands conveyed by the four deeds above referred to, part of said 2000 acres being [64]*64within the lands conveyed by each of said deeds, but not covering all of the lands conveyed by any of said deeds. This lease permitted Laing to enjoy in the mining of the coal the timber rights which the Gauley Coal Land Company had upon the land. Laing subsequently transferred all of his right under said, lease to the defendant Nelson Fuel Company which at the time of the institution of this suit was the holder of the same.

Subsequent to the conveyance of these minerals by C. L. McClung, as above mentioned, to-wit? on the 1-Oth of November, 1909, he made a deed to J. O. and L. E. McClung, by which he conveyed to them all of the timber upon his lands, which included the lands, the minerals under which had been theretofore conveyed, twelve inches in diameter and up, and on the same day J. O. and L. E. McClung conveyed thi^ timber to E. G. Eider and F. D. Stalnaker. In this deed to Stalnaker and Eider there was excepted and reserved such timber as had beén theretofore conveyed to or reserved by the Gauley Coal Land Company for mining purposes. Stalnaker and Eider, on the 18th day of November, 1909, conveyed the timber to Amos Bright and J. II. Brewster, who were acting for and on behalf of the plaintiff Sun Lumber Company, and who by deed of October 4, 1911, conveyed the same to that company, and it is under this deed that the plaintiff claims to be the owner of all the timber upon the land twelve inches in diameter and up.

By two deeds dated respectively the 13th of February, 1919, and the 7th of March, 1919, O. L. McClung conveyed to John B. Laing all of his remaining interest in these lands, with some inconsiderable exceptions. Laing transferred the right SO' acquired by him to the Nelson Fuel Company, which in turn transferred it to the Gauley Coal Land Company, so that the Gauley Coal Land Company thus became the full owner of the McClung lands, with the exception of such right^ as may be vested in the Sun Lumber Company under the timber deeds above referred to, unless C. L. McClung had parted with his interest in it prior to his conveyances to Laing of February 13, 1919, and March 7,1919, by a paper which he executed on the 8th of November, 1897, to Amanda Shawver, and which will be more particularly hereafter adverted to.

[65]*65In tbe deed from C. L. McClung to J. O. and L. E. McClung conveying tbe timber upon tbis tract of land there is a provision in regard to tbe time witbin wbicb said timber is to be removed, and wbicb provision is as follows: ‘ ‘ First, parties of tbe second part is to bave ten years from tbe date hereof for tbe removal of tbe timber from tbe land and if not removed witbin tbe said ten years they are to pay to tbe parties of tbe first part tbe sum of two hundred dollars thereafter for each year tbe timber may remain on tbe lands for tbe privilege of continuing tbe removal, or should tbe parties of tbe second part abandon tbe timber ora its removal it is to revert to tbe parties of tbe first part, but tbe payment of tbe $200.00 is to preclude tbe abandonment.” Tbis same provision in effect is contained in tbe deeds from J. O. and L. E. McClung to Rider and Stal-naker, and from Rider and Stalnaker to Bright and Brewster, and from Bright and Brewster to tbe plaintiff.

Tbe interest of tbe several parties in tbis land, being as above indicated, tbe Nelson Fuel Company, on tbe 2nd day of October, 1919, notified tbe plaintiff that it was preparing to begin mining operations upon its lease, under tbe terms of wbicb it was entitled to use all timber on tbe leasehold premises necessary for tbe mining and removal of tbe coal, and that in accordance with tbis right it would proceed at once to cut any timber wbicb it found necessary for mine ties, mine props, tipples, railroad siding, cross ties for switches approaching its mine, store bouse, engine bouse, and for necessary bouses for tbe miners who would be engaged in mining tbe coal. Upon receiving tbis notice tbe plaintiff filed its bill setting up its title to tbe timber, as above stated, and claiming to be tbe owner of all of tbe timber on said tracts of land twelve inches in diameter and up, and averring that it was tbe intention of tbe defendant Nelson Fuel Company to cut tbe plaintiff’s timber for tbe purposes specified in tbe notice above referred to, and asked that it be enjoined from doing so. A temporary injunction was granted. To tbis bill tbe defendant Nelson Fuel Company filed its answer by wbicb it contended that under tbe three deeds conveying tbe minerals to tbe Gauley Coal Land Company’s trustees, and tbe one deed in wbicb tbe minerals were reserved, because of tbe [66]*66provisions in said deeds in regard to the timber, it was the owner of said timber, and had the right to cut the same to the extent that it was necessary for the purpose of mining said coal and removing the same, and that it wonld require all of the timber upon said land for its mining purposes.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
106 S.E. 41, 88 W. Va. 61, 1921 W. Va. LEXIS 52, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sun-lumber-co-v-nelson-fuel-co-wva-1921.