Supreme Court of Ohio Accepts Two DMA Cases

On March 11, 2015, the Supreme Court of Ohio accepted review of two cases involving the 1989 version of the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (“1989 DMA”): Eisenbarth v. Reusser and Dahlgren v. Brown Farm Properties, L.L.C.

Eisenbarth and Dahlgren both concern the issues of whether the 1989 DMA is self-executing, and, if the 1989 DMA is self-executing, what is the proper look-back period for determining whether a mineral interest has been abandoned.  Eisenbarth will also consider whether an oil and gas lease is a “title transaction” for the purposes of the 1989 DMA.

Dahlgren was stayed pending the Court’s decisions in Walker v. Shondrick-Nau and Corban v. Chesapeake.