- Property acquired by either spouse during the marriage is community property unless it is separate property.
- Property owned or claimed by
Texas Court Splits Family Timber Land Over Heir’s Objections
Co-author Gunner West
“He who comes for the inheritance is often made to pay for the funeral”.* When heirs inherit property together and can’t agree on its use, Texas courts strongly prefer dividing the land physically rather than forcing a sale, even when one owner wants to cash out.
A Lesson on How Not to Recover an NPRI in Texas
Co-author Gunner West
It seems to be fairly well settled that you can’t use trespass-to-try-title to recover a nonpossessory royalty interest in Texas. What if you call the interest a “mineral interest stripped of every attribute except the right to receive royalty”? The result is the same; you can’t.
Limitations and Standing to Sue Dry Up Landowners’ Claim to Texas Riverbed
State of Texas. V. Reimer et al. studied lawyer-nerdy questions of standing to bring a lawsuit and statutes of limitations as applied to inverse condemnation suits. Spoiler alert: To the chagrin of the landowners, waiting over 30 years to assert your takings claim is not the best course of action.
The facts
In 1965
It’s Been Decided, In Texas the Mineral Lessee, Not the Surface Owner, Owns Produced Water
Co-author Stephen Cooney
In Cactus Water v. COG Operating, the Supreme Court affirmed that mineral lessee COG, not water rights owner Cactus (who derived it rights from the surface owner), has the right to possession, custody, control, and disposition of constituent water in liquid waste – so-called produced water – from its hydrocarbon production.
Texas Pore Space Ownership – Royalty Calculation
In Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, LLC et al, (discussed previously) the parties disagreed on how to calculate Myers’ royalty on salt produced by Underground.
The facts
The 1947 mineral deed reserved to Myers “a perpetual one eighth (1/8th) royalty on all oil that may be produced and saved from”
Who Owns the Subsurface Pore Space in Texas?
In a word, the surface estate owner. If that’s all the learning you are up for today, proceed directly to the musical interludes. If you want to know why the Supreme Court of Texas had to say this again, read on.
In a 1947 mineral deed Myers retained the surface estate in a 160-acre tract.
What’s the Difference Between a Mineral Reservation and an Exception?
The category is “terms that confuse us” for one hundred dollars. Without resorting to your favorite legal dictionary or lawyer, explain the difference between a reservation and an exception in a Texas warranty deed. Stumped? Valence Operating v. Davidson answers the question.
The deeds
1956: Myrtle and grandson Jackie Ray Briggs conveyed to Edmond and Mildred
Texas Court Shields Severed Mineral Interests from Tax Foreclosure Judgment
Co-author Gunner West
In Bush v. Yarborough Oil & Gas, LP a decades-old tax foreclosure judgment did not affect a previously severed mineral interest not owned by the delinquent taxpayer. The mineral owners were neither named nor served in the foreclosure suit, and the judgment and sheriff’s deed expressly limited the scope to the taxpayer’s
Texas Mineral Buyer’s Due Diligence Falls Short
Patch LLC et al v. Indio Minerals LLC et al was a dispute over title to a 1/8th NPRI in land in Midland County. Viola Ash, an Illinois resident, executed a warranty deed in 1932 for land in Midland County, reserving a 1/8 NPRI. Viola died in 1974 leaving no children.
Due diligence
Patch’s