Abandonment of the Surface Destruction Test in Determining Ownership of Unnamed Minerals

Date

1984

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech Law Review

Abstract

In Moser v. United States Steel Corp., the Texas Supreme Court abandoned the surface destruction test for determining the inclusion on unnamed minerals in the severed mineral estate. The Court instead adopted the “ordinary and natural meaning test” and found that uranium was a mineral within the ordinary and natural meaning of the word. Thus, a severance of a mineral interest that included “oil, gas, and other minerals” would include uranium.

Description

Keywords

Surface destruction test, Ordinary and natural meaning test, Mineral interest, Severance, Uranium, Deed, Oil and gas, Minerals, Moser v. United States Steel Corp., Case note

Citation

15 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 699