Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kathi Albertson on March 18, 2012 at 3:08pm

Wow, what a great story! Thanks for posting it. My heart goes out to Mr. Bell and others in his situation.

Permalink Reply by dr j on March 19, 2012 at 5:43am

I agree Fang and while I do feel somewhat sad for Mr. Buell, it is somewhat tempered.  Based on the location of his land and when he purchased, I am fairly sure he knew very well he was not purchasing mineral rights when he purchased the surface.   Many people have taken advantage of very cheap surface land because it has stripped and/or the mineral rights are owned by another entity.    Of course hindsight is 20/20 - no one could have known "this" was to come or perhaps he would have made different decisions- and perhaps the price would have reflected the knowledge.   We make the best decisions we can with the information we have at the time.

Recent events should change the way every land purchaser and title company approaches transactions.  

Permalink Reply by 0i7okn54zwbdo on March 22, 2012 at 4:05am

Chesapeake should really pay him for the damage to his crops and his land. He's entitled to at least that much. Just because he doesn't own his minerals doesn't mean that they need to be dicks about it.

Permalink Reply by dr j on March 22, 2012 at 4:21am

He certainly should be compensated for any surface damage, he is the "surface" owner.   I am guessing the old coal leases do not cover those concerns like the new leases do, and that is a shame. 

Permalink Reply by dr j on March 22, 2012 at 4:39am

I am sure that was the case, obviously stripping destroys the surface.  Total guess here...but I would bet most of the land purchased by Mr. Buell was reclaimed strip.