Hayes v. A.J. Associates, Inc.

OPINION

MOORE, Justice.

A lessee of mining rights on filled tidelands staked a claim to the mineral estate when he learned of a reservation of the mineral rights to the state in the patent. The lessor/surface owner sought ejectment. The lessee, alleging fraud, counterclaimed to recover the royalties paid under the lease. The superior court granted summary judgment for the lessor on the ground that the state did not reserve the minerals in the fill material. This court reversed, concluding that the state reserved the mineral rights to minerals in the fill material, and remanded for further…