THE LEGACY OF THE 1/8TH LANDOWNER'S ROYALTY AND THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT: HAS
HYSA w V. DA WKINS RESOLVED THE "DOUBLE FRACTION" DILEMMA? LAURA BURNEYt
I. INTRODUCTION
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II. BACKGROUND: WHY DRAFTERS USE DOUBLE, RESTATED, OR ..... 117 .......................... CONFLICTING FRACTIONS
A.
B.
Why Conflicting Fractions Were Used and Why They Are ...... 117 ........................... Not Necessary 1. Why Multiclause Deed Forms Were Used and Why ....... 118 ................ They Are Not Necessary 2. Role of the "Estate Misconception" and "The Legacy ........ 119 of the 1/8th Landowner's Royalty ......... InterpretingMulticlause Deeds with ConflictingFractions: The Birth andDemise of the "Two Grant"Doctrine ............. 120 1. Concord Oil Co. v. Pennzoil Exploration & Production
Co.
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The Court Declined to Follow the Kansas Approach ....... 122 Regarding the Estate Misconception ...... b. Guidelines from ConcordOil's "Four Corners" ............... 123 ..................... Approach 2. Post-ConcordOil Decisions: The Demise of the "Two a.
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Grant" Doctrine................................
C.
"Double"or "Restated" Fractions-TheContinued Legacy of the "Usual 1/8th Landowner'sRoyalty" in the Shale Era: The "Analyze" v. "Multiply" Debate.................. 126 1. Shale Era Cases: Conflicting Approachesfrom ........ 128 ................... Appellate Opinions. 2. Lessons from the Double and Restated FractionCases ........ 133 for the Shale Era ....................
III. HYSAW V. DAwKiNs: THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT ADDRESSES THE "DOUBLE FRACTION" DILEMMA
A.
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Hysaw Facts
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Professor, St. Mary's University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas
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