Roxie Sue Shorter F/K/A Roxie Sue Wolf v. Coffield Family Properties, LTD.

Opinion

Opinion filed August 31, 2026

In The

Eleventh Court of Appeals

__________

No. 11-25-00251-CV

__________

ROXIE SUE SHORTER F/K/A ROXIE SUE WOLF, ET AL., Appellants

V.

COFFIELD FAMILY PROPERTIES, LTD., ET AL., Appellees

On Appeal from the 132nd District Court Borden County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1412

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING Appellants filed a motion for rehearing after the issuance of this court’s original opinion on July 23, 2026. In our opinion, we held that, based on the unambiguous language of the 1944 deed, the grantors reserved a floating 1/2 royalty interest. In other words, looking solely to the language within the four corners of the 1944 deed, we resolved the case primarily on the construction of that conveyance

2

document. In their motion for rehearing, Appellants advance several deedconstruction arguments, principally that the future lease clause rebuts the Van Dyke presumption. See Van Dyke v. Navigator Grp., 668 S.W.3d 353, 364 (Tex. 2023). Appellants offer no reason to revisit our conclusion that we have not previously considered.

Although pled as an affirmative defense and addressed in their response to Appellee’s motion for summary judgment in the trial court, the presumed grant doctrine was not advanced or briefed by Appellants as an issue in this appeal. Appellants are clear in their position that an “issue” of presumed grant was not properly before us in this case, stating that we “correctly noted that [we do not have the] ability to raise the issue sua sponte.” In this regard, they argue that their “elect[ion] to drop their presumed grant argument on appeal indicate[d] a strategic decision based on evidence presented, but ha[d] no bearing on whether the text of the instrument rebut[ted] the Van Dyke presumption.” (Emphasis added). This election resulted in the affirmance of the trial court’s judgment on this issue without regard to the merits. See Merriman v. XTO Energy, Inc., 407 S.W.3d 244, 248 (Tex. 2013).

We deny Appellants’ motion for rehearing.

W. BRUCE WILLIAMS JUSTICE

August 31, 2026 Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J., Trotter, J., and Williams, J.