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| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
92_SB0104eng SB104 Engrossed LRB9201635DHmbA 1 AN ACT in relation to coal. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Coal Rights Act. 6 Section 5. Purpose. In recognition of the fact that an 7 estate of a joint owner in coal can be enjoyed only by 8 mining, removing, and selling the products of the coal, and 9 that the mining, removal, and sale of coal by one joint owner 10 therefore constitutes the use and not the destruction of the 11 common estate, the purpose of this Act is to clarify the 12 rights of joint owners of coal in this State, to promote and 13 preserve the value of coal reserves in the State, and to 14 maximize the recovery of coal through the orderly and 15 efficient development of coal reserves for the benefit of all 16 joint owners in a fair and equitable manner. 17 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: 18 "Joint owner" means a person or entity that is a joint 19 tenant, a tenant in common, or a tenant by the entirety. 20 "Coal owner" means a person or entity vested with a whole 21 or undivided fee simple interest or other freehold interest 22 in the coal estate, but "coal owner" does not include a 23 person or entity with a leasehold or any other lesser estate. 24 Section 15. Venue. Proceedings under this Act must be 25 brought in the circuit court of the county in which coal 26 lands sought to be affected, or the major portion of those 27 lands, is located. 28 Section 20. Joint owners; trusts. SB104 Engrossed -2- LRB9201635DHmbA 1 (a) If the title to coal is owned by joint tenants, 2 tenants in common, or tenants by the entirety, whether the 3 title is derived by purchase, legacy, or descent, any coal 4 owner or owners vested with at least a one-half interest in 5 the coal under the lands, or any coal lessee of the coal 6 owner or owners, upon proper petition, shall be authorized to 7 mine and remove coal from the land in the manner provided in 8 this Act, provided, however, that a petition shall not be 9 authorized under this Act for the mining and removal of coal 10 by the surface method of mining unless all of the owners of 11 the surface consent to the mining and removal of coal by the 12 surface method of mining. 13 (b) The circuit court of the county in which the coal 14 lands or the major portion of those lands lie has the power 15 to declare a trust in those lands, appoint a trustee for all 16 persons owning an interest in the coal who are not 17 plaintiffs, and authorize the trustee to sell, execute, and 18 deliver a valid lease on those lands on behalf of all of the 19 defendants on terms and conditions approved by the circuit 20 court for the purposes provided in this Act. The lease shall 21 continue in full force and effect after the termination of 22 the trust unless the lease has previously expired by its own 23 terms. 24 Section 25. Proceedings for appointment of trustee. 25 Proceedings for the appointment of a trustee may be 26 instituted by any person or persons (i) vested in fee simple 27 with at least an undivided one-half interest in the coal 28 sought to be developed or (ii) vested with a valid and 29 subsisting coal lease, the lessor of which is a person 30 defined in subdivision (i). 31 Section 30. Procedure. 32 (a) The person or persons seeking to impress a trust SB104 Engrossed -3- LRB9201635DHmbA 1 upon a coal interest for the purpose of leasing and 2 developing it shall join as the defendant or defendants all 3 persons, other than the plaintiff or plaintiffs, having a 4 legal interest in the coal. All parties not in being who 5 might have some contingent or future interest in the coal and 6 all persons, whether in being or not in being, having any 7 interest, whether present, future, or contingent, in the coal 8 interest sought to be leased shall be fully bound by the 9 proceedings. 10 (b) A verified petition shall be filed specifically 11 setting forth the following: 12 (1) The request of the plaintiff or plaintiffs that 13 a trustee be appointed to execute a lease granting the 14 plaintiff or plaintiffs the right to mine and remove coal 15 from the subject lands. 16 (2) The legal description of the lands. 17 (3) The interest of the plaintiff or plaintiffs in 18 the coal underlying the lands. 19 (4) The apparent interest of the defendant or 20 defendants in the coal underlying the lands. 21 (5) That the plaintiff or plaintiffs are willing to 22 purchase a mineral lease covering the interest of the 23 defendant or defendants and that the existence of these 24 unleased mineral interests is detrimental to and impairs 25 the enjoyment of the interest of the plaintiff or 26 plaintiffs. 27 (c) If in any action there are persons who would be 28 unknown parties as defined in Section 2-413 of the Code of 29 Civil Procedure, those persons may be made defendants to the 30 action in the same manner and with the same effect as 31 provided in the Code of Civil Procedure. The defendant or 32 defendants shall be given notice of the pendency of the 33 action by publication as provided in the Code of Civil 34 Procedure. SB104 Engrossed -4- LRB9201635DHmbA 1 (d) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for any 2 party to the proceeding who is a ward and is not represented 3 by a guardian. 4 (e) If it appears that any person not in being, upon 5 coming into being, is or may become or may claim to be 6 entitled to any interest in the property sought to be leased, 7 the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to appear for and 8 represent the interest in the proceeding and to defend the 9 proceeding on behalf of the person not in being, and any 10 judgment or order rendered in the proceeding is as effectual 11 for all purposes as though the person were in being and were 12 a party to the proceeding. 13 (f) The court shall take evidence and hear testimony as 14 to the matters set forth in the petition. The court shall 15 determine the prevailing terms of similar coal leases 16 obtained in the vicinity of the lands described in the 17 petition, including, but not limited to, length of primary 18 term, bonus moneys, delay rentals, royalty rates, and other 19 forms of lease payments. If, upon taking evidence and 20 hearing testimony, it appears that the material allegations 21 of the petition are true and that there has been compliance 22 with the notice provisions of this Act, the court shall enter 23 an order determining the interest of each defendant in the 24 coal sought to be leased. The court shall also appoint a 25 trustee for the purpose of executing in favor of the 26 plaintiff or plaintiffs a coal lease covering the interest of 27 the defendant or defendants. The judgment appointing the 28 trustee and authorizing the execution of the lease shall 29 specify the minimum terms which may be accepted by the 30 trustee. Those terms shall be substantially consistent with 31 the terms of other similar coal leases obtained in the 32 vicinity as determined by the court. The terms of the coal 33 lease shall also be substantially consistent with the terms 34 of other existing leases, if any, covering the remaining coal SB104 Engrossed -5- LRB9201635DHmbA 1 interests in the lands described in the petition. The lands 2 to be covered by the coal lease shall be contiguous. To the 3 extent that any of the lands described in the petition are 4 not contiguous to other lands in the petition, those lands 5 shall be the subject of separate coal leases. The court 6 shall determine a reasonable fee to be paid to the trustee 7 and that fee, together with the reasonable attorney's fees 8 and costs of the proceeding incurred by the trustee, shall be 9 paid by the plaintiff or plaintiffs. 10 (g) The plaintiff or plaintiffs shall forthwith furnish 11 the court with a report of proceedings of the evidence 12 received and testimony taken at the hearing on the petition, 13 and the report of proceedings shall be filed and made a part 14 of the case record. 15 (h) In all suits under this Act, the court may 16 investigate and determine all questions of conflicting or 17 controverted titles, remove clouds from the title to the 18 coal, and establish and confirm the title to the coal or the 19 right to mine and remove coal from any of the lands. 20 (i) An action filed under this Act may be joined with an 21 action under the Severed Mineral Interest Act. 22 Section 35. Coal leases; report by trustee. The trustee 23 shall enter into negotiations with the plaintiff or 24 plaintiffs and shall execute a coal lease in favor of the 25 plaintiff or plaintiffs covering the interest of the 26 defendant or defendants. The terms of the coal lease shall 27 be in accordance with the findings and judgment of the court. 28 The trustee shall forthwith prepare and file a report of sale 29 of the coal lease stating the terms of the lease and the 30 payments received for the lease and give notice to all 31 parties appearing of record. If the court finds that the 32 sale was in accordance with its judgment, the sale shall be 33 confirmed by court order and the court shall order the trust SB104 Engrossed -6- LRB9201635DHmbA 1 terminated and the trustee and his or her bond discharged. 2 Section 40. Payment. All moneys due to the defendant or 3 defendants under the lease executed by the trustee shall be 4 paid by the plaintiff or plaintiffs directly to the defendant 5 or defendants. 6 Section 45. Binding effect of lease. The sale of and 7 execution of any coal lease under this Act is binding in all 8 respects as to all of the interest in the coal and the right 9 to mine and remove the coal owned by the defendant or 10 defendants to the action in the same manner as if the 11 defendant or defendants had personally signed and delivered 12 the lease. The lease shall be binding upon the heirs, 13 legatees, personal representatives, successors, and assigns 14 of the defendant or defendants. 15 Section 50. Incapacity of trustee; subsequent 16 proceedings. 17 (a) In the event of the death or resignation of the 18 trustee or the refusal or inability of the trustee to act, 19 the court, upon its own motion or upon the motion of the 20 plaintiff or plaintiffs, shall appoint a successor trustee. 21 (b) After the entry of the initial judgment authorizing 22 a lease, all subsequent proceedings pertaining to the lands 23 and the coal interest involved in the initial litigation, 24 including subsequent leasing proceedings or proceedings by 25 the trustee requesting authority to execute and deliver 26 additional documents pertaining to a coal lease, shall be 27 commenced and prosecuted in the same case as the proceedings 28 for the initial lease. The acting trustee at the time of any 29 subsequent proceedings shall act as the trustee in those 30 proceedings. The court shall retain continuing authority 31 and jurisdiction to conduct the subsequent proceedings. SB104 Engrossed -7- LRB9201635DHmbA 1 Section 55. Costs. All court costs incident to the 2 proceedings authorized under this Act shall be paid by the 3 plaintiff or plaintiffs. 4 Section 60. Construction. This Act shall be liberally 5 construed so that any lease issued under this Act conveys 6 merchantable title. 7 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 8 becoming law.