Why would anyone buy property without access to a public road? Because it seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess. And often it is, until things change, “things” often being new and unfriendly ownership of the surrounding property. The Texas Supreme Court has addressed this situation. Hamrick v. Ward clarified the law
What Does “Sprawling Litigation” Look Like?
It looks like what you’d expect: a bunch of litigants spending lots of time at a courthouse in Goliad, Texas, with no end in sight. After much “sprawl” in Harkins v. Northshore Energy it came down to the meaning of this property description (call it Tract 2): “Being 1,210 acres of land, more or less,
North Dakota Good Faith Purchasers: At What Point is Notice Relevant?
Co-author Katie R. English.
The Question
In order to be a good faith purchaser, a party must not have actual or constructive notice of another’s rights. Northern Oil and Gas v. Creighton asked, When should the determination of whether a party has notice be made, A: At the time the second lease is recorded,
Rumsfeld, Morrison and the Discovery Rule in Texas
As Donald Rumsfeld teaches, knowledge can be divided into three categories:
- Known knowns; things that we know that we know;
- known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know; and
- unknown unknowns; the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
Another philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, adds a fourth, for
This is Why You Need a Will
Co-author Brooke Sizer
Let’s talk title disputes, especially ones between those with record title and those claiming title by possession:
- They are complicated (There were 229 defendants in today’s case)
- They happen when there is a lot of money to fight over ($2.7 MM in today’s case)
Was the Royalty Reservation “Floating” or “Fixed”?
The question in Graham v. Prochaska: Did the grantors in a 1950 Texas warranty deed reserve a “floating” 1/2 royalty interest or a “fixed” 1/16th royalty?
The Deed
At issue were three provisions:
- “Save and except there is reserved … ½ of the 1/8th royalty to be provided in any and all leases
Title Troubles in Texas, North Dakota and Montana: Right of Way v. Fee Conveyance
If you examine titles or read title opinions, this post is for you.
By Taylor Grove Lamb
I was recently examining instruments for an East Texas title opinion when I came across an instrument that, at first glance, appeared to be an easement. Scanning the document, I saw the phrases “right of way” and “road”—leading
The Duhig Rule – State by State
Co-author Tara Trout Flume
As promised in our last post, here is a state-by-state review of the Duhig Rule – who has adpoted it, who hasn’t, and who might.
Texas – Duhig v. Peavey Moore Lumber Company, 135 Tex. 503, 144 S.W.2d 878 (1940) was a Texas case. As a result, producing states have
Beware, the Stealthy Duhig Rule
Co-author Tara Trout Flume
Johnson v. Finkle, from North Dakota, centers around the long-standing but oft-forgotten headache that is the Duhig doctrine. If you aren’t familiar, you should be. Here it is:
The Rule
“Where a grantor conveys land in such a manner as to include 100% of the minerals, and then reserves to
Unrecorded Override Assignment Trumps the Public Records Doctrine
Lawyers and landmen are taught that a document affecting real or immovable property not recorded in the public records means nothing to a stranger. Like O. J.’s quest for the real killer, lower premiums after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the present I would have given my wife except I forgot our