Indiana Code
Chapter 12. Coal: Estates in Land
32-23-12-6. Authority to Remove Coal; Authority of Court; Length of Lease

Sec. 6. (a) If the title to coal lying within the land is owned by joint owners, a coal owner or coal lessee of the coal owner that meets the requirements under this chapter is authorized to mine and remove coal from the land subject to this chapter.
(b) The circuit or superior court of the county in which the coal land or the major part of the coal land lies may:
(1) declare a trust in the coal land;
(2) appoint without a bond a trustee for all persons owning an interest in the coal land who are not plaintiffs or the lessor of the plaintiffs under a valid and subsisting coal lease; and
(3) authorize the trustee to sell, execute, and deliver a valid lease on the coal land on behalf of each defendant on terms and conditions approved by the circuit court as provided in this chapter.
(c) A lease created under this chapter continues after the termination of the trust, unless the lease has expired by its own terms.
As added by P.L.94-2009, SEC.1.