The fifth June 14 Harris County filing addresses a partition action among siblings inheriting undivided mineral interests beneath Fort Bend County pastureland.
One heir seeks to force sale of the surface estate while others demand lease bonuses from a pending drilling application.
Geologists submitted decline curves showing depleted reservoirs that may reduce royalty expectations.
Family mediators failed to reach agreement on buyout pricing during courthouse hallway conferences.
Texas Rule 770 partition statutes guide whether judges must order public auction or allow buyouts by cotenants.
Oil-field service firms monitor outcomes because similar family disputes could delay pad construction timelines.
Mineral-rights heirs dispute whether a 1980s lease remains valid after the operator plugged non-producing wells last decade.
Fort Bend County appraisers valued the surface tract separately from subsurface interests, complicating partition math.
Mediation set for late June will explore buyouts before judges order public auction of the family pasture.
Oil-and-gas attorneys said partition suits involving dormant mineral leases are rising across Texas as heirs seek liquidity while operators hesitate to drill marginal formations at current prices.
Appraisers hired in the partition case will value both producing and plugged wells, helping judges decide whether auctioning the pasture is equitable for all mineral heirs.
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Sources:
https://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/edocs/public/search.aspx?newsuits=1&ShowFF=1