CHAPTER 9 THE TITLE EXAMINER AND HIS OPINIONS AS VIEWED BY THE LANDMAN—CURATIVE

• Jurisdiction: United States

Mineral Title Examination
(Nov 1977)
CHAPTER 9
THE TITLE EXAMINER AND HIS OPINIONS AS VIEWED BY THE LANDMAN—CURATIVE
E. J. Wentworth
The Superior Oil Company
Midland, Texas

The title of this paper might make a person think that there may be some cause for concern regarding the working relationship between the landman and the title examiner — there isn't! The work of the landman and the lawyer are very closely related and they must work in harmony. As one lawyer said — "the landman is an investigator who, with the examining attorney, is trained to determine as a joint effort what are the facts with regard to a particular title". We appreciate and respect the title examiner and hopefully complement each other to our common purpose — a good drillable title.

We all know that examining title to oil and gas property is very demanding. The examiner must be knowledgeable not only of oil and gas law but real property, trusts, estates, heirships, probate, ambiguities, perpetuities and countless other matters. He also must be knowledgeable of the various state and Federal regulatory bodies and conservation laws and regulations as they affect the title to oil and gas operations. As I said before we respect his knowledge and ability. The suggestions and comments I make today are offered as constructive comments and not to be taken personally.

As the title indicates this is a landman's view of the examiner and his opinions. The comments I make today are by no means original, however this may be the first time a landman has stood before such a large distinguished group of lawyers and landmen and submitted candid comments regarding the examiners opinion.

The purpose of any title opinion, regardless of the type, is to set forth clearly and concisely the present ownership of the various interests and the status of the title to that interest at that particular time and to advise the company what action if any is recommended or required to cure deficiencies and render the title acceptable. I want to repeat two words I just mentioned — clearly and concisely — I'll mention these words again and again today and if I fail to impress you with anything else I hope you will remember these words every time you prepare to dictate an opinion.

We, as landmen, recognize the responsibility that a title examiner has to his client or employer and we do not underestimate this obligation. We realize that the examiner's responsibility is

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becoming more and more difficult each day with the increasing number of statutes, court decisions and governmental regulations that are involved. We don't condemn an attorney for being cautions however we do expect him to be objective, reasonable and practical.

What a landman expects and what he desires in the examining attorneys title opinion are two different things — we've learned to expect almost anything; however what we desire is an opinion that indicates that our lessors have good title and that there is no curative necessary.

To be more realistic however I'll be more specific. The Preliminary Title Opinion should identify the land subject to the examination, what documents were examined, a tabulation of the leases and any unusual provisions therein, the apparent ownership of the surface, minerals and royalty, including any overriding royalty, the...