San Antonio Court of Appeals Applies Double Fraction Presumption to 1956 Deed, Finds Floating Royalty Interest Rather Than Fixed 3/32 Interest

In a declaratory judgment action originating in McMullen County, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's determination that a 1956 deed reserved a fixed 3/32 nonparticipating royalty interest, holding instead that the deed's double fraction language reserved a floating ¾ interest for the grantors. The court applied the presumption that references to ⅛ in deeds containing double fractions serve as shorthand for the lessor's entire mineral estate, rejecting arguments that this presumption was inapplicable to royalty interest reservations or to instruments executed after 1924.