Does anyone know the validity of a mineral rights lease that states the rights are in Weld County when they actually are in Morgan County, Colorado? I just learned that my sister signed a lease in 2008 with Baseline with unbelievably bad terms ($5/acre “paid up” and it basically runs as long as Baseline wants it to). The rest of the land description is correct, (Sections 1 and 12 Township 5 range 60) but not the county.
Dear Ms. Rudolph,
I am not familiar with Colorado law, but I can offer the following supposition:
In most common law jurisdictions, the acid test of whether a description is valid is if the description recited allows the property to be located. Since it is a Section-Township-Range situation, I would think that the description passes the test and therefore the lease is valid. I would also think that prior to operations, the examining attorney would make a title requirement to correct the description.
For those who are well experienced with Colorado law, please feel free to chime in and let us know whether my suppositions hold water.
Budy, thanks so much for responding. My research tells me you probably are right. Question, if I decide I need an OMG attorney for my own meager holdings in Morgan County, is there anyone you would recommend?