NPRI Plaintiff Survives Affirmative Defenses

Boren Descendants et al v. Fasken Oil and Ranch, LTD, offers something to talk about beyond interpretation of the fixed-or-floating NPRI question. At issue was this reservation, expressed as a double fraction, in a 1933 deed:, "an undivided ... 1/4^th of the usual ... 1/8^th royalty" from a conveyance of real property".

The court of appeals affirmed the trial court's judgment that the deed conveyed a 1/4th floating NPRI in the grantor (Fasken). Grantees and their successors (Boren/Mabee) failed to rebut the presumption that the term "1/8^th" was a term of art to refer to the total mineral estate and not merely 1/8^th .

Now, for the interesting part: The court of appeals affirmed the trial court's rejection of several affirmative defenses asserted by Boren/Mabee that might have prevented Fasken from claiming that its interest is anything other than a fixed 1/32 NPRI.