I have a contract I signed back in July of last year with these people.. both my uncles have also signed.. (they had said all that was left to do was verify deed) then I called them I asked why I hadn’t received my check when she said it had to be posted by Sept 23rd only to find out they hadn’t even signed all of us that there was another third owner who passed away and we needed her daughter to sign.. I had to find this woman myself which just recently happened.. but they’ve not answered her calls. Nor have they said we needed to sign a new newer lease or anything. I am worried about how these people have conducted themselves in business. Has anyone ever dealt with these people? Am I stuck dealing with them? Should I worry they have a lease signed and a Tax form I filled out for them? I never got paid. Please could use some free legal advice because I’m so broke… Bonnie
Steve and wife? Not good.
This is the kind of thing I worry about. It may be that they never filed the lease, but if they did then you need to take measures to legally have the record invalidated, so other leases can be entered into. You also have to worry about if your lease is assigned to someone else who can claim under it as a “purchaser in good faith.” You would still be entitled to your royalty share but may not recover the bonus payment unless you can successfully sue the original party, (assuming the lease was considered a “paid up lease.”) This is why you always want to have a lease in escrow until the money is paid into the escrow where the escrow holder then gives you the money and the signed lease to the company.
Steve and wife? Not good.
Is the Steve and Wife question directed at me?
Steve W Bye said:
Is the Steve and Wife question directed at me?
Steve W Bye said:
Steve and wife? Not good.
Lyla Frasier said:
Steve W Bye said:
Is the Steve and Wife question directed at me?
Steve W Bye said:
Steve and wife? Not good. No!!! Not you Mr. Bye. Sorry if you thought that…this is pertaining to Campbell.
Lyla,
Have you dealt with the Campbells? What do you know about them?
All info would be very welcomed…you can send a private message if you prefer not to say anything on the boards.
Thank you so very much,
Bonnie
Duke Wolf,
First let me thank you for taking the time to respond to me. I do need sound advice, and am thankful for yours. If I may ask you for some more of your insights and questions about some things you spoke of that I didn’t understand or hadn’t heard of, I’d be so grateful for your response. Below I gave a few more details of the situation.
How may I find out if the lease has been filed? Is it possible to look any of this info up online? (I live in Nevada.) Is it even possible for them to file the lease if one of us hasn’t signed? See, she told me they just had to verify the ownership of the mineral rights and so long as everything checked out it was a go. Now I did mention to her on quite a few occasions (because she asked) I own one-third, my two uncles share one-third, and my great uncle Teddy’s wife owned the other one-third after he passed. I also told her it was likely that she had passed on because my grandfather was the youngest and he died over 10 years ago and was 97; so it was most likely a child or children of hers that inherited it, but I didn’t know because I don’t know that part of the family well.
So after 45 long banking days and one week from the date she said the checks had to be posted and mailed by I CALLED HER to see why I still hadn’t gotten my bonus check. This is when she decides to mention that they hadn’t even found my great aunt let alone signed her. The point of mentioning all this is; if they signed all but my deceased aunt wouldn’t it make the lease void or at least incomplete? Would they be able to file a lease like that? Legally or not so legally is the truth of it… or it wouldn’t be getting screwed. Does it make it easier for them to file a lease without payment if they have two-thirds of us signed and the deed hasn’t been changed from my deceased great aunt over to my cousin’s name (her only child)? Do they even need her to sign? What would have to be done in order to get the record invalidated if the lease is filed?
You also mentioned that if our lease is assigned to someone else who can claim under it as a “purchaser in good faith” and we’d still be entitled to our royalty share but might not get a bonus payment without a successful lawsuit against those we first leased to, but only after the lease is a “paid up lease.” Well that is a lot to take in… and I’m guessing it doesn’t mean at all what it sounds like. It sounds like a sell where the owner holds the note/deed and receives payments instead of a bank loan or straight out buying it. But I know that can’t be because this is a lease and not a sell. How is this possible? What does it mean? and who’s able to do this?
How do you leave a lease in escrow until the money is paid? I’ve leased other mineral rights I have and just like this time I got a package with a lease, tax forms, a draft check for the bonus, and copies of everything. I filled it all out, got it all notarized, signed the draft check (which I photocopied) and mailed it all back. After 30 days I got a check in the mail. There were differences this time though. First they emailed me everything and I filled it out. Got copies, signed, notarized, mailed it back. Then I got a draft check via mail. Here in Reno not one bank has a clue what to do with one of those. I even called the bank it was written from. But after being transferred between people who didn’t know what it was or if they did that at this bank, the lady I had to talk to wasn’t ever in. I left many messages. The draft check which I still have is written out to me, and was for the whole lease amount, not just my part but everyone else’s also (both my uncles got one written out to them just the same as I did also). I called and asked what she wanted me to do with it and she said hang on to it they’d send me a check once everything was completed and I could just keep it. Then while comparing this lease with the one I signed the year before I saw that some of the sections were the same as we’d already leased, so I called and she re-wrote the first page of the lease and sent us a copy. We signed nothing again nor was a new draft check written. I started to get nervous about the whole deal. I talked to both my uncles and one was feeling the same as me but the other said not to worry.
I feel like I might have got taken, or at the least I’ve had to deal with idiots that have wasted a lot of my time over the past year. I just need advice on where to begin the detective work. Do I ask for my signed lease back?
Bonnie
Dear Bonnie,
Despite the fact that many leases are labeled “standard” they are rarely so. Each can be different, so one has to review them carefully. I was speaking only of my own experience and why I did not want to sign the one presented to me.
You should consult a good oil and gas attorney in Montana to review yours, and the circumstances around your signing and any correspondence that could explain any “vague” provisions.
I do not believe there is an online system for looking up the filing of mineral leases. I wish there were. You would have to hire someone to go to the Sheridan County Recorder’s office to look it up or go yourself.
My concern was very specific to the fact my lease recited it was “paid up” but also had a specific clause stating it could be assigned (also not required I agree or be notified) and a further clause that the assignee would not have any responsibility to me for the payment of the bonus. My recourse would therefore be limited to suing the original lessee for the bonus, and if they proved to be insolvent, I might never recover those funds once they assigned the lease. The new assigned lessee would or could claim that since my lease recited that it was paid and that I “acknowledged” receipt of the payment, that they had no knowledge of the fraud perpetrated on me and would not have to pay the bonus. They would be bound by the terms of the lease to make royalty payments, but not to pay the bonus. I noticed there is a lawsuit in Minnesota that had nearly these exact facts.
I hope that this is not what you have, but if you have, then you need to get legal assistance, especially if your lease did get filed of record. It may be however, that they are just waiting until they have everyone signed up because having only some may not be enough, though I understand once they get a certain percentage of ownership, they can force recalcitrant or missing persons into a pool.
I spoke with these people also about a lease. I am new to this. I have some mineral rights that I inherited from my Dad that are located by Outlook, and would like to lease them. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
Thanks You, Cindy