Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-111
Section 1551 - Instruments to contain notice that title to coal and right of coal and right of surface support are not included(a) Every deed, agreement of sale, title insurance policy and other instrument in writing, except a mortgage, a quitclaim deed or an agreement to convey by quitclaim, hereafter executed and delivered with respect to the surface of land and for the purpose of selling, conveying, transferring, agreeing to sell, convey, or transfer, or for insuring or agreeing to insure the title to said surface of land, shall, if any of the conditions of subsection (b) of this section are present, include therein, set forth entirely either in capital letters or in type or writing distinctively different from the balance of the instrument or set apart from the balance of the instrument by underlining, a prominent notice either in the form of one of the following paragraphs or else in a form which is essentially the same as and which expresses precisely the same meaning and notice as one of said following paragraphs: (1) "This document may not sell, convey, transfer, include or insure the title to the coal and right of support underneath the surface land described or referred to herein, and the owner or owners of such coal may have the complete legal right to remove all of such coal and, in that connection, damage may result to the surface of the land and any house, building or other structure on or in such land. The inclusion of this notice does not enlarge, restrict or modify any legal rights or estates otherwise created, transferred, excepted or reserved by this instrument."(2) "This document does not sell, convey, transfer, include or insure the title to the coal and right of support underneath the surface land described or referred to herein, and the owner or owners of such coal have the complete legal right to remove all of such coal and, in that connection, damage may result to the surface of the land and any house, building or other structure on or in such land. The inclusion of this notice does not enlarge, restrict or modify any legal rights or estates otherwise created, transferred, excepted or reserved by this instrument."(b) The notice prescribed by subsection (a) of this section must be included in each of the following cases:(1) If there is, or has been, a prior severance of record either of any coal underneath any part of the surface referred to in subsection (a) of section 1 hereof, or of any part of the right of surface support derived from or in connection with any of the said coal; or(2) If there is, or has been, a prior severance not of record either of any coal underneath any part of the surface referred to in subsection (a) of section 1 hereof, or of any part of the right of surface support derived from or in connection with any of said coal, and the person, firm or entity who, or which, sells, conveys, transfers, insures title or agrees to do any of those things has notice of, or reason to know of, such severance; or(3) If there is a contemporaneous severance whether or not of record of any coal underneath any part of the surface referred to in subsection (a) of section 1 hereof, or of any part of the right of surface support derived from or in connection with any of said coal.1957, July 17, P.L. 984, § 1. Amended 1965, Sept. 10, P.L. 505, No. 255, § 1.