McRae Exploration & Production, Inc. v. Reserve Petroleum Co.

OPINION

VANCE, Justice.

This appeal is from a trespass to try title suit involving mineral interests in which the jury found that the grantees in a later-in-time deed were bona fide purchasers. Based on those findings, the court awarded them a clear title to the interests in question.

HISTORICAL FACTS

Gus and Annie Lusk owned all of the minerals under a tract of land in Leon County. In 1922, they signed a mineral deed in favor of G.W. Walker and R.G. Walker (“the Walker deed”) covering one-half their interest. The Walkers did not record the deed until 1939. 1

In the meantime, in 1930, the Lusks…