Island Creek Coal Co. v. Rodgers

Jewell and Elsie Rodgers (plaintiffs) bought a home in a subdivision sitting above a mine whose coal rights Island Creek Coal Company (defendant) had severed from the surface estate back in 1905, when the land was still woodlands, with mining beginning in 1948 and ceasing directly under the home in 1971; Cimarron Coal Corporation continued strip mining thousands of feet away, and land movement in 1977 damaged the Rodgerses' home around the same time Cimarron was blasting nearby. The Rodgerses sued both companies for strict liability, and a jury found both liable, splitting damages evenly; Island Creek appealed, arguing it owed no duty because residential development was not foreseeable when the coal rights were severed in 1905.