Scully v. Overall
Kansas Court of Appeals
840 P.2d 1211 (Kan. App. 1992)
The Overalls (defendants) retained the mineral estate when they sold the surface estate to the Scullys (plaintiffs), and their mineral interest went unused for the statutory 20-year period; only after the Scullys published a notice of lapse and sent the Overalls a copy did the Overalls, within two days, file a statement of claim with the Register of Deeds, and the Scullys sued to quiet title, arguing the interest had already lapsed and the notice was purely informational rather than an opportunity to reclaim ownership.
Whether a mineral owner who does not take any affirmative steps to maintain a mineral interest for over 20 years may preserve the mineral interest by filing a statement of claim within 60 days after the surface owner files a notice of lapse.