Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 7.06 Environment and Ecology
Presentation #1 Title
All the Coal: Griffin v. Fairmont Coal Company and the Right to Contract
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
In 1889, Leander Griffin conveyed to Johnson Camden the right to mine all of the coal under his West Virginia farm. Had the Fairmont Coal Company – a subsequent purchaser of these mining rights – left enough coal in the ground to support the surface of Griffin’s property, the farmer might well have congratulated himself for having made a shrewd deal. Instead, the Fairmont Coal Company removed so much coal that the subsidence of Griffin’s land rendered farming impractical. The Supreme Court of West Virginia held that Griffin had waived the common law presumption of subjacent support in granting the right to “all the coal.” The Court reasoned that having profited from his bargain, Griffin should not be allowed relief when Fairmont Coal exercised its rights under the contract. This paper examines the West Virginia Supreme Court’s 1905 decision in Griffin v. Fairmont Coal Company and explores the tensions between honoring the rights of individuals to enter into contracts and the responsibility of courts to prevent societal and environmental harm.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Robert Deal is an assistant professor of history at Marshall University specializing in environmental and legal history.
All the Coal: Griffin v. Fairmont Coal Company and the Right to Contract
Harris Hall 136
In 1889, Leander Griffin conveyed to Johnson Camden the right to mine all of the coal under his West Virginia farm. Had the Fairmont Coal Company – a subsequent purchaser of these mining rights – left enough coal in the ground to support the surface of Griffin’s property, the farmer might well have congratulated himself for having made a shrewd deal. Instead, the Fairmont Coal Company removed so much coal that the subsidence of Griffin’s land rendered farming impractical. The Supreme Court of West Virginia held that Griffin had waived the common law presumption of subjacent support in granting the right to “all the coal.” The Court reasoned that having profited from his bargain, Griffin should not be allowed relief when Fairmont Coal exercised its rights under the contract. This paper examines the West Virginia Supreme Court’s 1905 decision in Griffin v. Fairmont Coal Company and explores the tensions between honoring the rights of individuals to enter into contracts and the responsibility of courts to prevent societal and environmental harm.
