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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Jimmy Glen Riemer and other property owners along |
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and adjacent to the Canadian River allege that: |
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(1) the patented field notes for the following surveys call |
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for a common boundary with the Canadian River: |
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Sections 29, 30 and 31 in Block 47, |
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H.&T.C.R.R. Survey, Hutchinson County, |
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Texas |
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Sections 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, |
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78 and 79 in Block 46, H.&T.C.R.R. Survey, |
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Hutchinson County, Texas |
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Sections 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, and |
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83 in Block 46, H.&T.C.R.R. Survey, |
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Hutchinson County, Texas |
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Sections 79 and 81 in Block 46, H.&T.C.R.R. |
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Survey, Hutchinson County, Texas, and |
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Sections 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, and 39 in Block |
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47, H.&T.C.R.R. Survey, Hutchinson County, |
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Texas |
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Section 26, Block 47, H&TC RR Co. Survey, |
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Hutchinson County, Texas, Abstract Number |
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A-689 |
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Section 25, Block 47, H&TC RR Co. Survey, |
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Hutchinson County, Texas, Abstract Number |
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A-107 |
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Section 24, Block 47, H&TC RR Co. Survey, |
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Hutchinson County, Texas, Abstract Number |
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A-833 |
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Section 23, Block 47, H&TC RR Co. Survey, |
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Hutchinson County, Texas, Abstract Number |
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A-106 |
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Section 22, Block 47, H&TC RR Co. Survey, |
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Hutchinson County, Texas, Abstract Number |
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A-637 |
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(2) although the Texas Supreme Court in Brainard v. Texas, |
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12 S.W.3d 6 (Tex. 1999) decided that the surveying method employed |
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by the General Land Office of the State of Texas involved in that |
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case was flawed and not consistent with the gradient boundary |
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method which has been the law of the land since Oklahoma v. Texas, |
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260 U.S. 606, 43 S.Ct. 221, 67 L.Ed. 428 (1923), the General Land |
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Office itself and in concert with other Texas state agencies |
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continued to employ the methodology condemned in the Brainard case, |
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creating confusion and uncertainty as to the location of the |
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boundary line between those surveys and the Canadian River. As a |
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result, there is a dispute as to the ownership of surface and |
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minerals between the state and the riparian owners that can only be |
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resolved by judicial action to determine and establish the boundary |
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between the Canadian River and the riparian surveys under present |
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conditions in a court of competent jurisdiction; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED by the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas, that |
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the following are granted permission to sue the State of Texas and |
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the General Land Office subject to Chapter 107, Civil Practice and |
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Remedies Code, as added by Chapter 524, Acts of the 70th |
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Legislature, Regular Session, 1987, to determine and establish the |
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boundary line between the above described surveys and the Canadian |
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River: |
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Jimmy Glen Riemer; |
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Richard Coon, Jr.; |
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June Meetze Coon Trust; |
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Johnson Borger Ranch Partnership; |
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W.R. Edwards, Jr. d/b/a W.R. Edwards, Jr. Oil and Gas; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Commissioner of the General Land Office be |
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served process as provided by Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), |
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Section 107.002, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by |
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Chapter 524, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular Session, 1987; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That any final judgment adjudicating the title |
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dispute in a suit brought concerning title to boundaries of the |
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Canadian River under this resolution shall be limited to settling |
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the title dispute and may not authorize an award of monetary |
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damages; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the lawsuit herein authorized must be filed on |
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or before the first anniversary of the final adoption of this |
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resolution; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That any owner of property similarly situated along |
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the Canadian River is granted permission to intervene in the |
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lawsuit, if found by the court to be a proper party, either |
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individually or as a representative of a class; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That any final judgment adjudicating the location |
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of the boundaries of the Canadian River in a suit brought under this |
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resolution shall be res judicata as to those boundaries for all |
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purposes, subject to the rules of law applicable to future erosion |
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or accretion. |