Is there a "double-fraction deed" in your chain of title?
Van Dyke v. Navigator Group, No. 11-18-00050-CV, slip op. (Tex. App.–Eastland Dec. 31, 2020, no pet.) available at
PROBLEM: The crux of this dispute is the amount of mineral interest reserved by the grantor in a 1924 deed. The root of the problem is this language:
It is understood and agreed that one-half of one-eighth of all minerals and mineral rights in said land are reserved in grantors...(emphasis added).
Grantor’s successors (hereinafter simply “grantor”) argue that they reserved one-half of the minerals. Conversely, grantee’s successors (hereinafter “grantee”) assert that grantor reserved a mere one-sixteenth, or the product of one-half multiplied by one-eighth. Following the Texas Supreme Court’s edicts, this court sought to discern the parties’ intent as expressed within the four corners of the deed. See, Wenske v. Ealy, 521 S.W.3d 791 (Tex. 2017); Uri, Inc. v. Kleberg Cty., 543 S.W.3d 755 (Tex. 2018); Hysaw v. Dawkins, 483 S.W.3d 1 (Tex. 2016).
Why would grantor ever say “one-half of one-eighth” as code for one-sixteenth? There is a highly probable explanation considering the context in which the transaction occurred. At the time of this sale, the commonly accepted, yet invalid understanding of the nature of the interest reserved in a typical oil and gas lease was that the grantor was reserving a ⅛ mineral interest and conveying the balance of the estate to the oil operator. One-eighth royalty was the standard for that era. This was so much the custom and practice of the day that the Texas Supreme Court took judicial notice of this fact in Garrett v. Dils Co., 299 S.W.2d 904, 907 (Tex. 1957).
Since then, it has been established that the mineral owner conveys his entire mineral estate, save for his reserved royalty, but the mineral estate conveyed is “determinable”, meaning it is subject to termination for specified conditions, most common of which is lack of oil and gas production in paying quantities. When the estate terminates it reverts back to grantor. So the grantor has a right of reverter in addition to his reserved royalty.
The misunderstanding of how the mineral estate is divided between a lessor and lessee is called the “estate misconception theory.” See, Hysaw, 483 S.W.3d at 10. Grantor asserted this theory to explain that he believed that he owned ⅛ of the minerals and for this reason qualified the “one-half” reservation in his deed to be “one-half of one-eighth.”
This is not an isolated occurrence. The problem was so pervasive in deeds of this period, that lawsuits following in their wake are referred to as a “double-fraction cases.” Hysaw, 483 S.W.3d at 7, citing Laura H. Burney, Interpreting Mineral and Royalty Deeds: The Legacy of the One-Eighth Royalty and Other Stories, 33 ST. MARY’S L.J. 1, 24 (2001) (“arguing that the appearance of ⅛ in a double fraction is patent evidence the parties were operating under the estate misconception”).
HOLDING: This court refused to consider however, the context in which this deed was made, holding that the deed was unambiguous. That is, the court opined that it could only have one meaning, one-half of one-eighth equals one-sixteenth, period, end of discussion; therefore, the court limited its consideration to the language within the four corners of the deed.
Grantor also asserted, the “presumed grant theory,” arguing that “for decades... (the parties) have acted as equal owners of the minerals” as evidenced by a series of conveyances, leases, ratifications, division orders, contracts, probate inventories, stipulations, and other documents over a course of 90 years. Once again, the court was unmoved.
COMMENT: In the end, at least in the 11th District Court of Appeals, in double-fraction cases it doesn’t matter what you actually intended, the court will apparently not consider the context in which a deed was exchanged if fractions can be multiplied to arrive at a firm number. Should not every double fraction case require examination of the question, why did they not just use the product of the multiplied fractions? It would be bizarre to mean 1/16, but say it “½ of ⅛”!
The court relies on URI, Inc., 543 S.W.3d 755; however, the URI sword cuts both ways and supports consideration of facts and circumstances surrounding the deed’s execution.
...As we have often stated in one way or another, ‘[u]nderstanding the context in which an agreement was made is essential in determining the parties’ intent as expressed in the agreement, but it is the parties’ expressed intent that the court must determine.’
Petition for review by the Texas Supreme Court is due February 16, 2021.
January 2021 - Select Representative Conveyances as published in county records:
LOVING COUNTY, TEXAS
Buyers:
INDIO MINERALS LLC, SPICEWOOD HJI MINERAL HOLDINGS LLC, DVJ PROPERTIES LLC, GLM INVESTMENTS LLC, SUBTERRA RESOURCES LLC, RIDGEFIELD PERMIAN MINEALS LLC, HENLAND SERVICES LLC, FOUNDATION MINERALS LLC, MAVROS MINERALS II LLC, OAK VALLEY MINERALS LAND LP, VAUGHAN MCELVAIN ENERGY INC, ARROYO ENERGY FUND LP, BCJ LEGACY LLC, ENSORPRENEUR LLC, HEADY FIONA, HEADY JONNY, BLES JOHN, PITTS ZACH, BHW LLC, LOCKE LLC, CHERRY CREEK MINERALS LLC, INCLINE PERMIAN MINERALS LLC
More counties coming…
Published by:
CORDERO MINERALS, LLC
James R. Woodley, Manager
We are Texas mineral rights brokers.
corderominerals@gmail.com (214) 215-5637
MINERAL RIGHTS NEWS is intended for general information only and not intended and it shall not be construed as legal advice. Do not rely on opinions expressed. Rather, for your legal questions please consult an attorney with your unique facts.
May I ask a personal question of the married men in the group.
Are you contemplating divorce? Would you be willing to take a step back from the precipice and consider that there are a number of lies planted by the enemy and running amok in the world. First, that you will be happier on the other side of divorce. That your wife and your kids will be happier. That you married the wrong person. That you should have married this other person and on and on.
Do you have children? If you get divorced what example do you think your children will follow when they are married and struggling? And if they get married, you will surely agree that they also will struggle and want to quit from time to time.
If you are contemplating divorce I invite you to call me. Not to complain about your wife. Let’s just assume that your wife is 99.9% of the problem. But are you willing to own your 0.1 contribution? Would you be willing just for a day to focus your best efforts into being a loving husband and loving your wife with acts of kindness and grace. I don’t believe that you and I are capable of this on our own, but all things are possible through Jesus Christ and if you are willing to try for a day I will pray for you, your wife and your marriage and family. Simply call and it will be my pleasure and privilege to pray with and for you. If I can help one man turn back to his wife and be a loving husband for just a day, this newsletter, my very life will not have been in vain, but rather the fruits of a man loving his wife the way God intended will reverberate into eternity. Lastly, I am preaching here to myself first and foremost.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore, a man shall leave his mother and father and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself...
THE WORD OF THE LORD
GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
MARK 12:28-31 …“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”