In 2018 I commented on a case in the 9th Circuit court of Appeals, Murray v BEJ Minerals, LLC, holding that fossils of two “dueling dinosaurs”, a 22-foot-long theropod and a 28-foot-long ceratopsian, “engaged in mortal combat” when “entombed under a pile of sandstone,” were “minerals” under Montana law. Well,…
In Murray v. BEJ Minerals, LLC, No. 1:14-cv-00106-SPW, a panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a fight over fossils of two “dueling dinosaurs”, a 22-foot-long theropod and a 28-foot-long ceratopsian, “engaged in mortal combat” when “entombed under a pile of sandstone.” The surface owner and…
A friend recently made me aware of a publication by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M called “Mineral Law West of the Pecos,” written by Judon Fambrough, a lawyer who is with the Center. Judon has written much good stuff about land and mineral law in Texas, and this…
The Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso has issued its opinion in State of Texas v. Cemex Construction Materials South, LLC. The court reversed a summary judgment for Cemex and granted the State’s summary judgment, returning the case to the trial court to assess damages. The State is seeking…
Conveyances of minerals in Texas usually describe the interest conveyed or reserved as an interest in “oil, gas or other minerals.” Texas courts have struggled mightily to try to discern what the parties meant by the term “other minerals.” If the parties did not specifically name a particular mineral, such as coal…