Beaumont Court Affirms Private Ownership of Subsidence-Submerged Land Over State's Presumptive Title Claim

The Texas Ninth Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court's determination that Edwin Arnaud, Inc. retained title to land submerged by oil and gas production at the Rose City Oil Field, rejecting the General Land Office's claim of presumptive state ownership based on expert testimony establishing six-and-a-half feet of subsidence caused solely by hydrocarbon withdrawal. The decision turned on whether subsidence from mineral production constituted an exception to Texas's presumptive ownership of submerged lands, with the court crediting expert geological and surveying testimony that excluded erosion, sea level rise, and tectonic movement as substantial contributing factors.