Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dion Warr, CPL on November 18, 2011 at 13:23

KCM:

Short answer: it depends.  Depending on the type of frontage (I'm assuming road frontage), how the ROW was acquired, and when the road was built (or ROW was acquired), and how the intervening sales are worded (whether they refer to property *fronting* the road, or clearly delineate the property up to the road right-of-way, or refer to surveyed corners or monuments at the ROW, it is quite possible for prior owners to have sold their rights to everything up to the road ROW, and still own their portion of the land and/or minerals lying beneath it, up to the centerline (or the entire, if they owned land on both sides of the road prior to the sales).

IANAL, but there is a 1956 statute that attempted to address the problem from that point forward, but pretty much held the status quo up to the enactment of that statute.  I'll leave it up to the learned counsel in our midst to cite the whys and wherefores. 

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on November 18, 2011 at 13:47

Even if sellers reserved the minerals under the road, wouldn't the minerals revert to property owners fronting that road after 10 yrs. without production

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on November 18, 2011 at 15:15

Not if the donation conferred a perpetual servitude.  For example, all mineral owners who lost surface to the I-49 right-of-way that I have dealt with were granted imprescriptible servitudes.  The same with lands under Toledo Bend.  The date and details of the donation or taking are important.  There should be an instrument on file in the public record that provides those details.

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on November 18, 2011 at 18:17

what if that owner coveyed the land to new owners--less the surface where is road is located and didn't do a mineral reservation

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on November 18, 2011 at 18:22

I just looked at the deed when this land was conveyed to state and no perpetual servitude. Seller reserved minerals under surface and sold surface

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on November 21, 2011 at 16:19

I still need input on this

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on November 21, 2011 at 16:28

A servitude was created by the taking or donation.  If there was no perpetual reservation then the minerals have prescribed to the state. 

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on November 21, 2011 at 16:56

people who originally owned property reserved minerals when selling to state.they then reserved minerals when selling to new buyer. that was over 10 yrs. ago with no production. don't those minerals now revert to landowner who owns property which fronts the road

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on November 21, 2011 at 17:03

The right-of-way is a servitude separate and apart from the adjoining surface estate.  They are not connected.  I suspect that the sale to the state did in fact create a perpetual servitude and has not prescribed.

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on November 21, 2011 at 18:50

ok, if someone buys the right of way less the surface as part of the property fronting the right of way, and the original seller did not reserve minerals, then the minerals would transfer to the new buyer, right

Permalink Reply by Henry on November 22, 2011 at 1:03

KCM,

My family was forced to sell land to the state for I49.  It is usually obvious on the deed if you sold land under I49, because the pieces of land are called "Parcels."  The legal description of each parcel is impossible to understand, because they relate to a bunch of points in a survey, and the maps of these things are held in Baton Rouge.  In our case, my family reserved the mineral rights under these parcels, when the state took the land.  Later on, when the entire tracts that surrounded these parcels were sold by my family, the sellers sold the tracts (alas, with the mineral rights), less and except for the Parcels.   This was more than 10 years ago, and prescription did NOT occur.  My family now receives royalties for what they used to own under I49.   I hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Whatley on November 21, 2011 at 17:39

KCM,

I inherited some minerals under I-49 that are held perpetually.  The language on the conveyance dated June 5, 1985, reads " It is understood and agreed that Vendor reserves unto himself, his heirs and assigns, all oil and gas/and other minerals beneath the area hereinabove described, it is specifically understood, however, that while no exploration, drilling, nor mining of oil or gas minerals of any kind shall be conducted upon said area, there may be directional drilling from adjacent lands to extract the oil or gas minerals from under said area.  This reservation is made specifically under the provisions of Act. No. 50 of the Regular Session of the La. Leg. for the year 1974 (R.S.31:149.et seq)."

I remember my benefactor, who was an attorney, telling me that whenever the state takes right-of-way for a road or hwy, the surface owner automatically retains the minerals forever, and there is no prescriptive period. 

 

 

 

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