My family has owned land in Banner County, Nebraska since the 1800's. My Grandfather sold the land due to health issues, but kept the mineral rights. I being one of his heirs went to file a lease on the mineral rights, only to discover some company, "Millenium Trust", had already filed a lease on it! No one attempted to contact us reguarding their filing on our mineral rights. Is there any recourse or can some big company come in and steal your mineral rights right out from under you? Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated.
Dear Mr. Woodhouse,
Nebraska has a "dormant minerals" statute. Upon application of the surface owner after a period of 23 years of non-use, the court by judicial decree an extinguish the mineral severance.
I think that law was adopted around 1967 or so and that there has been a Supreme Court ruling making retroactive claims unconstitutional.
Therefore, it is your government at work. Best get a good oil and gas lawyer.
Buddy, thank you so much for your reply. Government at work, there's an oxymoron huh? Saddens me that our politicians and so called law makers are more concerned with lining their pockets then doing what's right for the people...And that something that was in my family over 130 years can be takin out from under us without having to be contacted. There was a well drilled many many years ago and capped, which my grandfather showed me when he had to sell the land due to health concerns. He said at the time he felt there was oil on the land and would keep the mineral rights for us in the future. God bless him, he's probably rolling over in his grave.
I tried looking for a gas and oil attorney in Nebraska, but, every website I went to ended up being for typical criminal law attorny's and such. I even tried a website with online chat and was spoken to by an attorney that said she was a mineral rights expert but to answer any questions I would need to put down 49 dollars on my credit card, red flag! If you or anyone knows of a good attorney that specializes in mineral rights please let me know, and thanks again for your reply!
An old and blind lady who befriended me because I was extremely patient with her and refused to take advantage of her during the leasing process had an issue that she was dealing with on a separate tract. Her father had sold some land to the State of Texas in the 1960's for construction of the Interstate highway going through his property, and reserved all minerals. Then he sold the land on each side, kept the minerals on those, but because he did not make it undeniably clear when he sold the tracts on either side of the highway he intended to keep the minerals UNDER the highway, an appellate court in Texas whose jurisdiction covers several counties in the Barnett Shale said that, under the strips-and-gores doctrine, those minerals now belong to the landowners on either side of the highway, split evenly. There was an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, but they refused to hear the case, so the appellate-court ruling stands, at least for that appellate district. And THAT is how the government can steal minerals from an old, blind lady!
Anyway, as far as locating an attorney, trying going to the Web site for your State Bar. Hopefully, they will have a search engine through which you can specify a city or county, and a specialty (like Oil & Gas). Try to get an attorney who is "board certified" in oil-and-gas law, not just one who claims to "specialize" in it. Good luck.
Thanks for the reply Pete, it is shameful what is happening to people these days. Feel very bad for that poor woman. As far as our mineral rights, we have all the paper work in order that proves ownership. I was very suprised when we went to file on the lease that "Mellinium Trust" company had already done so! The district judge that allowed them to do so has since been censured for "shady dealings", and the courthouse was closed down! I have a gas and oil attorney from Texas that I got off this site helping, ( Wade Caldwell) and is currently waiting for a response from an attorney in Nebraska. Welcome to land of payoffs and bribes...
Are you 100% positive that you own ALL the minerals underneath your tract of land? If so, why? Because the person who sold to you said so? Because your grandfather or other family member said so? That's not necessarily a very sturdy basis for belief.
If somebody else leased minerals underneath that same land, there might be a partial mineral ownership floating out there in the chain of title somewhere that was "severed" from the property years, decades, or maybe even many decades ago.
Yes Pete, the land has been in the family since the 1800's and when my Grandfather sold the land he had legal documents drawn up and signed by the person he sold the land to stating he was keeping all mineral rights. As I stated before I have the documents in my possesion. Have no idea who this company is, Mellinium Trust. Also thank you for your offer Jenna. Do you specialize in mineral rights law? I Still have not heard anything back from the other attorney and well, times a wastin...Is your office in Nebraska? I will look it up for contact info.
OK, you have THOSE documents in your possession, but that does not mean there isn't some OTHER document in the public record whereby some or all of those minerals changed hands. For example, are you 100% positive that your grandfather did not SELL some or all of those minerals to somebody else after he sold off the surface? Are you 100% sure that your grandfather did not sign a "royalty contract," which crooked oil-and-gas agents would offer to mineral owners purporting to be an Oil and Gas Lease but essentially was a mineral deed as well? Are you 100% sure that there was no lawsuit, bank foreclosure, or tax sale against your grandfather whereby he might have relinquished some or all of the minerals?