[CITE: M. S. Mahurin v. C. A. Robinson and DNR, 1 CADDNAR 64 (1983)]
[VOLUME 1, PAGE 64]
Cause #: 83-083G
Caption: M. S. Mahurin v. C.
A. Robinson and DNR
Administrative Law Judge: Lucas
Attorneys: Bruner; Kinney; Miller, DAG
Date: December 9, 1983
Order:
The
transfer of ownership filed by C. A. Robinson on April 11, 1983 with respect to
Permit Number 37730 (granting authority to drill or deepen an
oil or gas well, known as Montgomery Farms, Inc. Number 1 Well) is
voided. No "transfer of ownership" shall be made to Permit Number
37730 unless by consent of M. S. Mahurin or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction
directing the transfer ...Nothing...[here shall]
constitute superior interest...by
Mahurin...
FINDINGS OF FACT
1.
The petitioner, M. S. Mahurin, is a resident of Henderson, Kentucky.
2.
The respondent, C. A. Robinson, is a resident of Evansville, Indiana, doing
business as Robinson Engineering.
3.
The respondent, Department of Natural Resources ("Department") is an
agency of the State of Indiana, consisting in part of the Natural Resources Commission
and personnel necessary for the performance of official functions of the Department.
4.
The Department is empowered to conduct administrative hearings pursuant to IC 4-22-1
("Administrative Adjudication Act") and has jurisdiction over the
subject-matter and the parties to this administrative action.
5.
With respect to IC 13-4-7, the Natural Resources Commission is the ultimate
authority of the Department as described in the Administrative Adjudication
Act. A final determination of the Department under IC 13-4-7 must be made by
the Natural Resources unless the authority is assigned to designated
in the Department. No evidence was offered to establish an assignment of the
ultimate authority of the Natural Resources Commission to any person.
6.
On May 23, 1978 Permit 37730 (formerly Permit No. 37398 O.W.D.D.) was issued by
the Department to M. S. Mahurin, granting authority to drill or deepen an oil
or gas well in the north half of the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter
of section 32, township 7 south, range 7 west (Luce township, Spencer county),
known as Montgomery Farms, Inc. Well Number 1.
7.
On April 11, 1983 C. A. Robinson filed with the Department a "Transfer of
Ownership" (State Form 1589) with respect to Permit 37730 showing C. A. Robinson,
doing business as Robinson Engineering, to be the new owner of the well.
8.
Homer Brown, Director of the Division of Oil and Gas, pursuant to a long-standing
routine of the Department, effected "transfer"[FOOTNOTE i] of the well to Robinson
Engineering in accordance with the April 11 "Transfer of Ownership",
and the bond of M. S. Mahurin was released.
9.
At no time did M. S. Mahurin agree or consent to the "Transfer of
Ownership" nor was the transfer the result of an order by a court of
competent jurisdiction directed to the Department.
10.
The "Transfer of Ownership" was affected without notice to M. S.
Mahurin.
11.
A final order or determination has not previously been entered by the Natural
Resources Commission on the Transfer of Ownership sought by C. A. Robinson for
Permit 37730.
12.
The August 8, 1983 petition by Mahurin to initiate this administrative
proceeding was timely and states a cause of action upon which relief may be
granted.
13.
Ownership of Montgomery Farms, Inc. Well Number 1, and the party entitled to
the benefits of Permit 37730, are the subject of
dispute between M. S. Mahurin and C. A. Robinson, doing business as Robinson
Engineering. Before the dispute arose, ownership of the well and the benefits
of the permit were vested in M. S. Mahurin.
14.
Until the dispute between M. S. Mahurin and C. A. Robinson is resolved, by
agreement or by judicial decree, the benefits of Permit 37730 are posited in M.
S. Mahurin.
15.
Due process requires the voidance of the "Transfer of Ownership"
(State form 1589) filed on April 11, 1983 by C. A. Robinson, doing business as
Robinson Engineering.
FOOTNOTE
i. The parties agree the Department has no
jurisdiction to
[VOLUME 1, PAGE 65]
transfer ownership of a well, nor,
for that matter, to determine any disputed property rights between citizens
attaching to an oil or gas well. Counsel for Robinson Engineering suggests the
"Transfer of Ownership" might be better deemed a "Notice of
Intent to Operate Under Existing Permit Issued to
Another." Whatever nomenclature is applied, the determination of disputed
property rights in Montgomery Farm, Inc. Well Number 1 must be resolved by
Mahurin and Robinson through their agreement or by judicial intervention. The
Department cannot properly adjudicate the property rights of M. S. Mahurin and
Robinson Engineering, nor can the Department interpret a judicial decree to
which it was not a party.