Estate of Christeson v. Gilstad

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a judgment quieting title to mineral interests in Patricia Christeson. The court held that a recorded oil and gas lease executed by the legal owner, even though not the record owner, constituted a use of the mineral interest under N.D.C.C. § 38-18.1-03(1)(d) and therefore prevented abandonment under the state's abandoned-mineral statutes.

Holdings

1. A recorded lease of a mineral interest constitutes statutory use under N.D.C.C. § 38-18.1-03(1)(d), even when the lease was executed by the legal owner rather than the record owner.
2. The mineral interest was not deemed abandoned because the recorded 1989 oil and gas lease constituted use within the twenty-year period preceding the 2007 notice of lapse.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a recorded oil and gas lease executed by the legal owner of a mineral interest, but not by the record owner, constitutes a statutory use of the mineral interest under N.D.C.C. § 38-18.1-03(1)(d).
2. Whether the recorded 1989 lease prevented the mineral interest from being deemed abandoned under N.D.C.C. chapter 38-18.1.

Disposition

affirmed