Just found out that my wife's family owns minerals in Martin County, TX near Stanton. A land man informed us that he was researching adjoining land and found my wife had a "substantial" amount in suspense. He wants 40% of funds in suspense and for future production. Don't intend to work with him, but short of going to courthouse, how can we find out who is producer so we can claim?
Deed info is " all the W/2 of the NW/4 and all of the SW/4 of Section 8, Block 37, Township 1 South, Certificate No. 2877 of the Texas and Pacific Railway Company Survey containing 240 acres, more or less, and it is the purpose and intentions this deed to convey an undivided eight (8) acre interest in and to all the oil, gas, and other minerals, in, on and under and that may be produced from the above described 240 acres of land."
Jim,
Pioneer Natural Resources is the operator of the wells in Section 8/Block 37T1S. Their contact info is:
PIONEER NATURAL RES. USA, INC. 665748
5205 N O CONNOR BLVD STE 200 IRVING TX 75039
(972) 969-3957
Do you happen to have the Abstract # of the minerals in question?
The targeted formations in that area are the Sprayberry Trend/Atoka/Strawn. Most of the wells in the area are decent vertical oil wells.
GIS Map of Martin County Section 8/Block 37 T1S:
Clint Liles
Clint - THX so much for info. Sorry, don't have abstract #. Will contact operator.
I do believe what the Landman asked is illegal. I believe state law limits finders fees to 10% and you also have to be a licensed private investigator to get that.
Also check the Comptroller of the Public Account to see if your wife's money has been turned over to the state
Hi Jim -
I agree with the others. Illegal as all get out and totally unethical.
If you don't mind my asking, who was the Landman? If he is a member, the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), headquartered here in Fort Worth, Texas, would be very happy to hear from you about this. I can help you get in touch with them if you would like.
We take our industry very seriously and one bad apple...
Charles Emery Tooke III
Certified Professional Landman
Fort Worth, Texas
Chris Johnson with Southwest Land and Royalty, Inc., out of Odessa, Texas? 325-236-2959 / chris@cajoil.com?
I have some information about your wells to send you. Clint gave me your email address, I hope that was OK.
Chris Johnson is a member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL). If you feel that his actions regarding your mineral interests and royalties in suspense was in any way unethical, I can get you in touch with them and they will have a little talk with him.
It blows my mind that an AAPL member would try to get away with something like that.
Jim, I'm an AAPL member, and an RL. If you ever have any questions I'd be happy to help. Mr. Tooke is also a well respected member of both the AAPL and this board.
Appreciate all the advice/assistance.
I appreciate your vote of confidence, Jordan.
Jim, think it over and let me/us know what you want to do. It's your call.
Although I might check with the AAPL about Mr. Johnson's status with them...
Mr. Hodgin and to whom it may concern,
My intentions were never to be unethical. State law does limit finders fees to 10%. However, outside agreements between the finder and the interest owner are completely acceptable and binding upon the two parties. There has been case law that supports this. My intentions were to lead you and your family to a monetary asset that you had no idea you owned or were entitled to. I was simply running title to see exactly what I owned and saw that your father in law's interest was not correctly put in pay. I am proud to be an AAPL Member and support all they do for the oil and gas industry. I'm glad that your wife and her family will hopefully soon get on pay with the oil company.
If this guy wouldn't have contacted you, would you have known about the money your wife may or may not have in suspense? So while his offer was excessive and illegal he actually did you a favor by bringing it to your attention..
I find it interesting that no one quoted the specific AAPL provisions that would make this unethical. As is usually the case, people throw that term around. There was one reply that I believe called it illegal, but has since been deleted. Please support your positions with the applicable AAPL Canons or state statutes, or Penal Code references. I read replies here for about two years before I started giving advice. It became unbearable. There was so much shoot from the hip, half-baked advice being dispensed. It has gotten a little better.
If you call something unethical per the AAPL, quote the Canon. If you call something illegal, quote the applicable statute. Otherwise, it has a hollow ring to it. Back it up. If you can't do that, or get past common, low-life, name calling, don't post.
I don’t find where any discussions have been deleted. I do find several references to charging more than 10 percent being disallowed on the page previous to this one referenced by AAPL members, and it seems the gentleman himself admitted that anything above a ten percent “finder’s fee” was not allowed. Of course unethical and illegal are two different horses. Although statute or Canon quotes would be informative, I doubt you’ll see many in our posts as most of us do not profess to have law degrees.
That sounds like a lot of selective reading. He also seems to assert that there can be a contractual relationship between finder and owner for more than 10%. He even writes that it is supported by case law, but he does not offer any citations.
Most of the AAPL members, I would guess in the area of 95-99%, do not have law degrees.
However, all members are privy to the Canons of Ethics of the AAPL.
One member here seemed to indicate that the offeror was in violation of AAPL Canons, and that his standing within the organization itself may be questionable.
I don't think it is at all unreasonable to ask him to quote the canon that he might be referring to.
It has nothing whatsoever to do with having a J.D., or not. Once again, most AAPL members are not lawyers. I would guess that only a small percentage of AAPL members have law degrees. The only requirement that I know of is that they would need to have the $100.00 membership fee.
There can be a contractual relationship between a donkey and a hyena as long as they can both sign on the dotted line and prove they’re of age to enter into the agreement.
