Diederich v. Ware

After an 1859 deed severed oil rights from surface rights, Ware's (defendant's) predecessor leased drilling rights to a company that openly, continuously, and notoriously operated two wells in one corner of the tract since 1924, despite knowledge by Diederich's (plaintiff's) predecessors that the drilling was under an adverse claim; the trial court ruled for Ware without deciding whether operating wells in just one corner was sufficient to adversely possess the entire tract's mineral rights.