Ratifications, Stipulations, And Fixed vs. Floating Royalty Interests

After four stops at the lower courts, Kenneth Hahn v. ConocoPhillips has been resolved by the Supreme Court of Texas. The Court opined on the effect of two instruments often used to clarify land titles in Texas: ratifications of an oil and gas lease and stipulations of interests.

See this post for background. And remember: These brief posts are not presented as fulsome discussions of the cases we report on. We promise not to "hallucinate", as with AI and 1960's rock-and-rollers, but we can't discuss every nuance and detail of these often long and complicated decisions.

The result

The Supreme Court reversed a court of appeals judgment favoring Hahn. Hahn's NRPI was reduced to a floating interest as a result of a Stipulation between the parties but not as a result of a Ratification. It's complicated. Read on.