In Thompson v. Custer (December 19, 2014), the Eleventh District Court of Appeals ruled on the self-executing nature of the 1989 version of the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act ("1989 DMA").
Drawing on the Seventh District’s decision in Walker v. Shondrick-Nau and the Fifth District’s decision in Wendt v. Dickerson, the Eleventh District held that the 1989 DMA is self-executing and operated to abandon a mineral interest reserved in 1950 where no savings event occurred within the twenty years preceding the effective date of the 1989 DMA (or the three year grace period).The court also ruled that the 1989 DMA is constitutional.
Custer is the first decision addressing the 1989 DMA by the Eleventh District Court of Appeals. The Eleventh District covers Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull Counties.
You can read the Opinion here.