MDN has previously highlighted the importance of last year’s Ohio Supreme Court decision with regard to the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (DMA). In September 2016 the OH Supreme Court ruled in three DMA cases, saying all of the other cases come under those three (see Important: OH Supreme Court Finally Rules on Dormant Mineral Act). Following that ruling, we brought you insights on what it means from international law firm Jones Day (see One More Look at Important OH Supreme Court DMA Decision). We later ran a copy of an analysis done by attorney David Wigham, who said, “[T]he landscape regarding title and ownership to mineral interests in Ohio has significantly changed” (see Expert Says OH DMA Decision “Significantly Changed” Mineral Rights). The ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decision continues–and various aspects of the now-settled law are still, well, getting settled. Under the DMA if a surface landowner advertises his or her intent to reclaim mineral rights (when the rights have been dormant for period of years), the rights owners have a certain amount of time to respond to reassert their ownership. But what if the original rights owners are now dead. Can their heirs, as in grandchildren, claim those rights? Under a case just decided in Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals, the answer to that would be, “Yes”…
