Mining Company v. Taylor was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1879. The case involved a dispute between a mining company and a landowner over the rights to a vein of coal. The mining company had purchased the land from the landowner, but the landowner later claimed that the mining company had not acquired the rights to the coal vein. The Supreme Court held that the mining company had acquired the rights to the coal vein, as the deed of sale had not specifically excluded the coal vein from the sale. The Court also held that the mining company had the right to mine the coal vein, as the deed of sale had not included any restrictions on the mining of the coal vein. The Court concluded that the mining company had acquired the rights to the coal vein, and that the landowner had no right to interfere with the mining of the coal vein.

In the case of Mining Company v. Taylor, Justice Field delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the majority's decision was contrary to both law and justice. He argued that under California law, an owner of land had exclusive rights to all minerals beneath it unless they were expressly reserved by contract or deed when the property was sold. In this case, no such reservation existed; thus, according to Field's interpretation of state law, Taylor should have been granted exclusive mineral rights on his own land regardless of whether any other party had previously mined there or not. Furthermore, Field noted that even if one assumed arguendo that prior mining operations gave rise to some sort of possessory right over those minerals for another party (which he did not believe), then at most only a qualified title would be created - meaning any dispute between parties regarding ownership must be resolved through litigation rather than self-help measures like reentry onto someone else’s property without permission as occurred here. Thus overall Justice Field concluded that since no express reservation existed and because self-help remedies are prohibited under California law in cases involving disputed titles over real estate interests like these mineral rights claims here – Taylor should have prevailed against Mining Company’s trespass claim before the lower court and his judgment ought not have been reversed by the Supreme Court as it was today