Lower Courts Await Ohio Supreme Court Rulings on Dormant Mineral Act

By -
The Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (ODMA) has created a lot of headaches and legal battles over the past couple of years, and now those legal battles are beginning to back up in lower courts of the state while parties await decisions on several ODMA-related cases that are pending before the Ohio Supreme Court.

From Gas & Oil, here is a summary of the cases that have been picked up by the Supreme Court:
Dodd v. Croskey, Case Number 2013-1730
The Court is considering two propositions of law relating to the 1989 version of the ODMA: 1) does a notice of preservation filed by a severed mineral interest owner after a notice of abandonment is received from the surface ownercure a severed mineral interest holder’s past non-use of minerals or simply give the holder a right to contest the abandonment in future court proceedings, and, 2) does a transfer of the surface that specifically references the severed mineral interest qualify as a “title transaction” when the title to the minerals is not affected? 
Chesapeake v. Buell, Case Number 2014-0067 
The Court is considering two questions of law: 
Is a lease of the mineral rights (which has been recorded) a title transaction under the ODMA? 
Is the expiration of a recorded lease and the reversion of the rights granted under that lease a title transaction, even though the reversion itself is not recorded? 
Corban v. Chesapeake, Case Number 2014-0804 
The Court is considering two questions of law: 
Does the 2006 version or the 1989 version of the ODMA apply to claims asserted after 2006 alleging that the rights to oil, gas and other minerals automatically vested in the surface land prior to the 2006 amendments as a result of abandonment? 
Is the payment of a delay rental during the primary term of an oil and gas lease a title transaction and “savings event” under the ODMA? 
Walker v. Shondrick-Nau, (formerly Walker v. Noon), Case Number 2014-0803 
The Court is considering six propositions of law: 
Is the 2006 version of the ODMA the only version of the ODMA to be applied after June 30, 2006? 
Was a surface owner required to take some action to establish abandonment of minerals under the 1989 version of the ODMA prior to June 30, 2006, in order to for the minerals under their property to be “deemed abandoned” under the 1989 version? 
To the extent the 1989 version of the ODMA remains applicable, should the 20-year look back period be calculated starting on the date a complaint is filed which first raises a claim under the 1989 version of the ODMA? 
Does a transfer of the surface that specifically references the severed mineral interest, including the recorded document creating that interest, qualify as a “title transaction?" 
Can a statute of limitations, irrespective of the savings events in the ODMA, bar a claim under the ODMA? 
Does the 2006 version of the ODMA apply retroactively to severed mineral interests created prior to the effective date of the statute (June 30, 2006).
The lower courts will understandably hold off on issuing rulings in other ODMA cases that come before them, looking to avoid making a decision that will be invalidated shortly afterwards by a conflicting Supreme Court ruling.  So in the meantime, anxious landowners involved in these matters will have to exercise patience.

Read more by clicking here. 

Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Popular posts from this blog

Fracktivist in Dimock Releases Carefully Edited Video, Refuses to Release the Rest

By -
Image
From Energy in Depth: There is something very strange going on along Carter Road, in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and I’m not speaking of natural gas, methane migration, contamination, litigation or even the extensive water testing there by the EPA and others.  No, I’m talking about a new “Watergate” conspiracy, complete with 18 minutes of missing tape (well, video, actually). It seems the ever-present Green Party member and  naturist   Vera Scroggins  (a/k/a  Vera Duerga ) has posted a video of Craig Sautner meeting with the EPA.  Mysteriously, the video is but 14 seconds in length, cutting off conversation in what is obviously mid-stream.  It raises a question Craig Sautner, like  Ronald Reagan in Kings Row , might have asked, “Where’s the rest of me?’  Carter Road, isn’t Kings Row, of course, (at least not until you arrive at  the mansion Scott Ely, one of the Dimock litigants, is building with his royalty money ), but there appears to be a whole lot of film editing going on there to fi
Read more

The Second Largest Oil and Gas Merger - Cabot and Cimarex

By -
Image
       Due to investor pressure, the U.S shale drillers are being pushed to improve financial and operational performance after a few years of poor returns. Even though the industry has improved its numbers, when compared to last year, investors still want more to be done for them to earn more money.      That's why two mid-tier shale drillers, Cabot and Climarex, have decided to merge in order to eliminate $100 million in annual costs, which means more money for the investors. This all-stock transaction is valued at about $7.4 billion, which is relatively high for the oil and gas sector.      The new entity will be renamed and the headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Cabot shareholders will own 49.5 percent of the new entity, and Climarex the rest.       The Cimarex-Cabot merger will address the investor's demand for a higher amount of returning cash. The initial plan is to pay a 50-cent-per-share special dividend on closing the deal while offering a quarterly variable div
Read more

Do You Know The History of Fracking?

By -
Image
  In 2018, 59% of total oil production in the U.S came from hydraulic fracking, which means it accounted for more than two-thirds of domestically manufactured gas. By 2024, fracking will reach an astounding $68 billion market value! Of course, fracking is not a new drilling method as you can trace it back hundreds of years. That's why we want to consider the history of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). We will be stating historical facts about it and focusing on the major historical occurrences that have influenced modern-day fracking. Pre-Fracking Days The idea of fracking started back in 1862 when Edward A.L. Roberts (Civil War veteran) witnessed Confederate soldiers exploding artillery rounds into a canal that obstructed a battlefield. At the time, Edward A.L. Roberts called it superincumbent fluid tamping. On April 26th, 1865, Edward A.L. Roberts began experimenting with exploding torpedoes, which consisted of lowering a torpedo containing an amount of powder from fifteen to tw
Read more