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The Ohio Supreme Court issued an opinion in Dodd et al., v. Croskey et al., 2015-Ohio-2362, analyzing the operation of Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Act, O.R.C. § 5301.56.
The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the finding of the Seventh District Court of Appeals that a severed mineral interest holder, upon receiving a notice of intent to abandon can either file an affidavit identifying a savings event that occurred in the 20-years preceding the notice under 5301.56(H)(1)(b) or file a claim to preserve the interest under 5301.56(H)(1)(a). The Court found either sufficient under the 2006 version of the DMA to avoid abandonment.
Although the Court accepted sua sponte the issue of whether a restatement of a prior mineral reservation is a ‘title transaction’ under 5301.56, the Court ultimately found it unnecessary to analyze that issue as its decision concerning the claim to preserve was dispositive.
A copy of the Court’s opinion may be found here. Additional analysis of the Dormant Mineral litigation, including the appellate court decision in Dodd, may be found here.
NOTE: This general summary of the law should not be used to solve individual problems since slight changes in the fact situation may require a material variance in the applicable legal advice.
If you have any questions concerning this client alert, please contact Attorney Gregory W. Watts at 330-497-0700.