Law Commons^™

The Easement Of The Mineral Estate For Surface Use: An Analysis Of Its Rationale, Status, And Prospects, John S. Lowe

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

A fundamental principle of United States property law is that the right to extract minerals can be severed from the bundle of rights that constitutes property ownership. Where the mineral interest has been severed from the surface interest, the courts have recognized an implied easement burdening the surface interest and benefiting the mineral interest to use the surface in such manners and locations as may be reasonably necessary to obtain minerals from the property. Common law rules must be reexamined constantly to determine whether the rationales that led to their recognition still apply, however, for the customs and expectations are …