Appellate Court Again Holds Ohio's Marketable Title Act Applies to Fee Oil and Gas Interests

Ohio's Seventh District Court of Appeals recently held once again that fee oil and gas interests are subject to possible extinguishment under Ohio's Marketable Title Act (MTA). See Stalder v. Bucher, 2019-Ohio-936. In Stalder, the mineral owners advanced two arguments against extinguishment. First, they claimed that the MTA no longer applies to mineral interests. In their view, Ohio's Dormant Mineral Act (DMA) supersedes the MTA because it is the more specific statute as to terminating mineral interests. The Court rejected this argument. According to the Court, oil and gas interests are subject to both the MTA and DMA. Second, they maintained that an exception to extinguishment applied. The Court agreed and thus preserved the oil and gas interest in the mineral owners' favor.