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Article: Surface vs. mineral: a collision of legal rights.(Special Report)
- Article from:
- Arkansas Business
- Article date:
- August 27, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Journal Publishing, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The legal conflicts that sometimes pit surface and mineral owners against one another derive from ancient rules known as "real property" law. Arkansas' real property law comes from the English Common Law and can be traced back at least to the 13th century.
Unlike citizens in some other nations, we Americans value our legal right to own real property. Indeed, under our system, different real property interests in the same piece of land may be owned by different people. Consider the simple example of my home. I own the place, but not entirely. Out front is a public street, often called "fight of way." My backyard contains the neighborhood's sewer main, plus ...