Way back in 2023 it was predicted that the Supreme Court of Texas’ decision in Van Dyke v. Navigator would spawn years of litigation. How right the predictions were!
Double-Fraction Royalty Disputes – the Continuing Saga Continues …
A 1950 Deed CreatesTitle Chaos
Karli v. Wilson instructs mineral/royalty traders and their scriveners on a surefire way to create title chaos out of what could have been an uncomplicated land transaction. In 1950 the Wilson siblings and spouses executed a warranty deed to the Veterans Land Board for 196.7 acres in Brazos County, Texas. The Karlis now own
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.
Ratifications, Stipulations, and Fixed vs. Floating Royalty Interests
After four stops at the lower courts, Kenneth Hahn v. ConocoPhillips has been resolved by the Supreme Court of Texas. The Court opined on the effect of two instruments often used to clarify land titles in Texas: ratifications of an oil and gas lease and stipulations of interests.
Reserved Royalty Interest is “Floating”
Co-author Tiereney Bowman*
Texas courts continue to address the “fixed or floating” non-participating royalty interest question. The El Paso Court of Appeals’ answer in Bridges v. Uhl et al. was floating, based on the language in that particular reservation,
In 1940 the Klattenhoffs sold a 640-acre tract in Upton County to Virgil Powell, reserving, “an
Who Bears the Burden of a Newly Discovered Non-Participating Royalty Interest?
The question in Brooke-Willbanks v. Flatland Mineral Fund LP, et al was which party to a Texas mineral deed would bear the burden of two previously reserved nonparticipating royalty interests.
The facts
Kay Brooke-Wilbanks owned a 45/100 mineral interest in 320 acres in Howard County, which is equivalent of an undivided 144-acre mineral interest. Her
Texas NPRI Burdened with Post-Production Costs
Co-author Rusty Tucker
BlueStone Nat. Res. II, LLC v. Nettye Engler Energy, LP is another Texas case deciding whether language creating a nonparticipating royalty interest prohibited deduction of post-production costs. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t. Read on to learn why.)
The Deed
By a 1986 Deed Engler’s predecessors conveyed land to BlueStone’s predecessor. Grantor reserved an undivided 1/8th NPRI in the minerals and was entitled to 1/8th of gross production, “ … to be delivered to Grantor’s credit, free of cost in the pipe line, if any, otherwise free of cost at the mouth of the well or mine … .” (emphasis ours).
Continue Reading Texas NPRI Burdened with Post-Production Costs
Opinions to Expect From the Texas Supreme Court
Co-author Chance Decker
The Texas Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in three intriguing oil and gas cases. Here’s what you need to know about two of them (We’ll address the third case soon).
Adams v. Murphy Exploration & Production Co. USA
Did lessee Murphy comply with an offset-well clause that doesn’t state where the offset-well must be drilled? When a well was drilled on an adjacent tract, Murphy drilled its offset-well more than 2,000 feet from the triggering well.
Continue Reading Opinions to Expect From the Texas Supreme Court
Must the Lessee Be Wary of the Executive Right Owner?
You are negotiating to take a big oil and gas lease. The run sheets show you are dealing with an executive right owner on behalf of himself and his NPRI owner. His proposed terms are odd: a lower-than-market royalty and a higher-than-market bonus. After reflecting, you get it: The terms aren’t odd; they are just
The Executive Right and the NPRI – What is the Relationship?
The duty owed by the executive right holder to its non-participating royalty interest holder in Texas, long haunted by the ghost of Clinton Manges, is again examined. From KCM Financial, et al. v. Bradshaw and its precursors …
We Know This:
- The executive owes the NPRI owner a duty of utmost good and fair