I signed a lease in January,2016. I never heard anything about this lease until 2018 when I called the land man to change my address. At that time I was told surface owners was contesting our lease. The surface owners were squatters on the land. They said they claimed the land over 100 years ago but never filled for mineral rights. I then go a call from attorney for surface owners He told me he was going to court and have the judge reverse lease. He offered 250 for my lease. I told him I would investigate and get back to him. I then called operator they confirmed lease was in suspension. I ask a few questions about names and AMT of involved. I was told They won’t give out information on suspension accts. Was told attorneys were working on it and when a decision was made they would let me know. My question is who would be looking out for my interests in this matter. Should I get an attorney?
You need to get an attorney. There is something odd about this clai as there must have been deed(s) severing the surface and minerals. The 100 years is odd too.
I tried to get an atyorney. He was too expensive and he finally told me it would be a conflict of interest as he had done work for the surface owners. There attorney told me he would get with the owners and make me a settlement offer. However, that was three weeks ago. Just don’t know where to turn next.
Do not settle without hiring and attorney! Can you give us some more info to help? I.e. how many acres in the lease, how many wells have been drilled on it etc. This would help us understand if this is worth pursuing.
First, you need to post a reply with the description of the minerals in question? Copy it off your your 2016 lease. That way any of us who are inclined to try to help you can go look more closely.
Some questions for you.
- What do you think you own - how many acres and what percentage of ownership?
- How did you come by this mineral ownership - what makes you think you own the minerals in the first place?
- You say the surface owners were squatter on the land, so it sounds like you know of them / have a history with them. What do you know about their involvement with the property on which they own the surface and under which you think you own the minerals? What’s the history there?
- Who is the Lessee of your 2016 lease? The oil company who took the lease?
- Interesting that the lawyer you contacted is conflicted because he or is firm represents the surface owner on other matters. Is the surface owner someone who owns a lot of land around you?
- Have you leased these minerals in the past - prior to the 2016 lease? If so, when and how many times?
- Have these minerals ever had oil or gas produced from them? If so, did you receive royalties from the production? And did you pay property taxes on the mineral interest when they produced?
- Are you currently paying taxes on your mineral ownership? If there’s no current production, you’re probably not being assessed property taxes on those minerals.
Here are some thoughts on what you can do in the meantime:
Go to the TRRC website GIS mapping resource - here. Zoom into La Salle County and locate your minerals. Keep zooming in until you see the wells. You can see what production might have been from your minerals in the past and surrounding production. That will give you an idea of what’s at stake.
Get all of your documentation of your mineral ownership together in one place and organized. That way you’ll be more prepared to talk to the next potential lawyer. Things like deeds, wills, probate documents, etc.
Start getting all of your other records together - past leases, records of past production payments, documentation of property taxes paid, etc.
Search the deed records to confirm your ownership and see how the surface owners got title to the surface. Go the the County Clerk’s office at the courthouse in Cotulla with copies of the documents by which you acquired the minerals and ask the staff in that office to help you search the deed records. There may be a kind landman working in there that day who you could talk into helping get you started. While you’re there, go to the property tax office and see who is paying taxes on the land. And see if they separately list your mineral ownership and show you as the owner.
Lastly, like the others have said, you need a lawyer for something like this. If you can’t pay a lawyer to represent you on this, then I think your only other option is to find a lawyer who will represent you on a contingent basis. They get paid by getting a piece of your minerals and any in money in suspense from production on the 2016 lease. But they would need to be satisfied you have a reasonable claim and reasonable chance of prevailing, and that a contingent share would be worth their time / risk. That may be a tall order. But you’ll need your documentation to help convince them it’s worth it. One suggestion for a lawyer is Catrina Longoria out of Eagle Pass. She is excellent - she successfully represented us in a similar matter in Dimmit County. I highly recommend her, but I’m not sure she would be interested in a contingent arrangement. But it’s worth asking.
Good luck!
I didn’t know about this property until the land man contacted me. The lease is for 40.4 Acres. It is part of Survey No. 32, Abstract No. 416 situated in LaSalle county, Texas being tract 302,303,304,and 305 of the Altito Ranch Subdivision. As well as Lot Numbers 302,303,304 and 305 Block 13 of the Altito Twn-site. March 23, 1910. I appreciate all the information you have given me. I will schedule a trip to the town very soon. Thanks again.
Who are the surface owners/squatters that you are referring to? Are they the Maltsburger-Storey Clan of the Altito Ranch, LLC? I own (or thought I owned the lots) 307,308, 309 in the subs and the same in the town… I found out there supposedly is a a deed from 1930 that suoerceeds mine…it’s all very confusing and circular. Would sure like to meet other people that have had issues claiming land in the Altito Lands…
Who has been paying the property tax all these year’s? In Texas just because someone pays the property tax does not make it theirs. I know this for a fact! The Landman would not have found you if there is not a good reason. Demand your lease back or get your money! The oil company can’t have it both ways!
It’s not the landmen that are the problem, it’s the 4 families in Cotulla that are acquiring properties anyway they can…legally or otherwise…
One time I had a person tell me that they were the administrators of the estate! Yea, a self appointed administrator. They told me to pay them and they would “distribute” the money. In Texas some people think that if they pay the taxes for 5 year’s it becomes “theirs”.
in all honesty, if the mineral estate was never severed from the surface estate, an adverse possession claim on the surface would include the subsurface estate. Maintaining unopposed, open and notorious claim and possession of the lands (fencing, mowing the grass, paying property taxes) has a 5 yr, 10 yr and 20 yr increment associated with it. There is no need to file anything in courthouse deed records to make such a claim. There would be an obligation by an owner of record title or their successors to file affidavit disputing a claim of adverse possession. The notion that abandonment of surface estate by someone who owns the surface and 100% of the minerals would only surrender the surface estate is legally incorrect. With that said, all it takes is one Mineral Reservation somewhere in the chain of title to sever the surface estate from the minerals. I am guessing that is what the Surface owner/tenant is claiming, that their adverse possession of the Surface included 100% of the minerals
Also, WHY would the attorney for the squatters offer $250/acre if the “squatters” claim was correct without any doubt! Lmeyer did not cloud the title. The landman came to him and payed him. There were probably good reasons too. "
Of course they would try to claim everything. But the Landman saw something that indicated that the “squatters” had no legal official claim! That’s why he leased the minerals I suspect. If the oil company “Clouds” the title by agreeing with the “squatters” then?
Landmen often lease off of record title and ancestry/genealogy. I am curious how they carried it from the last owner of record title to you, without some sort of curative instrument (i.e., affidavit of heirship, in the case of intestate succession). I would suggest that many landmen overlook adverse possession impacting minerals, b/c in most regions of Texas, the mineral estate is severed somewhere in title from the surface estate, so adverse possession seldom applies to minerals. But there are instances when it does, and in those cases, an Oil and Gas lease to the heirs or successors of the last owner of record title does not Cloud Title. It is a voidable lease, in the very same way that leasing a stranger in title would be a title bust.
If the tract were unitized into a producing well, it is likely that, due to a lack of curative accompanying the lease, that the interest and royalties would be put in suspense as a Division Order Title Opinion Curative Requirement, b/c the Lessor is not technically the owner of interest in courthouse record title. That curative, depending on the attorney, would likely include the logic that adverse possession may have claim on the mineral interest. The sole determiner would be the issue of whether the surface and mineral estate were in tact or severed. If severed, in any way, then the curative would be Heirship and Genealogy unto you.
In my research regarding the surface title and the mineral rights, it’s the Wild West out there…it’s astonishing how loose the rules used to be (and perhaps still are to the right people) and the ongoing disputes problems that it has caused, unless you are squatting on the land…When I say “squatting” I don’t mean illegals, poor immigrants or destitute individuals trying to claw out a living in a shack. This is a well organized and successful land grab by well established families that apparently have connections that outsiders do not. It is not just about surface rights either. The Eagle Ford discovery changed all of that.
Agreed. Since the Eagleford area was largely considered unproductive lands to traditional vertical well exploration, it is a prime example of how abandoned lands (b/c the owner failed to inhabit the property or pay property taxes) were in fact a land grab that included surface and minerals. But it is the proper course of statute law. It isn’t stealing, b/c the ability to buy the lands from the owner of record title had truly been abandoned. They no longer had the legal right to represent themselves as Sellor/Grantor on a deed.
I am familiar with adverse possession…doesn’t mean that I agree with it or support it, but I get it…just as I don’t support past practices of letting anyone apply for a deed. Nor do I support the inequity of what they are doing with the tax rates. 38 acres of land locked property in South Texas that have seen the values go $38K too well in excess of $200K in the less than 10 years all while it had an AG Exemption. I’m not against the tax increases, I have a problem with the land around it (in excess of 400 acres) with a total taxable value of $26K…really…someone has their finger on the scale…Deeds are lost, unavailable, never got filed or there is a “deed that superscedes yours”, so were going to call yours invalid and delete you from the records…they can not find the deed that is referenced in my 1960 warranty deed from1908 and it was original developer. They had no problem finding the one from 1930 that held by one of the 4 families in the region holding there lion share of the property.
If it sounds like my rear end is a little raw, it is…The county has no problem taxing you from what is now considered an invalid deed…oops we made a mistake, but were not going to refund you anything farther back than 5 years unless you can provide extenuating circumstances…
In Leon County, Texas there were some crooked lawyers that “TORE” deeds out of the Deed Records in the Court House. This went on for year’s. Always get Certified copies of your deed filings and keep them in a safe fire proof place. Courthouse’s used to “burn” before, during and after the Civil War in the 1860’s. In Houston County, Texas
In Texas a “land locked” tract with no legal easement can get one legally through a court action.