Opinion ID: 2831391
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Accommodation Doctrine

Text: Under the accommodation doctrine, a surface owner may obtain relief on a claim that the mineral lessee failed to accommodate an existing surface use by proving that the existing use is precluded or substantially impaired by the mineral lessee and no reasonable alternative method is available to continue the existing use. Merriman, 407 S.W.3d at 249. Key asserts that the accommodation doctrine was not raised in the trial court or the court of appeals, and even if it were, the court of appeals erred by relying on it to hold that Key trespassed on the Hegars’ surface estate. The Hegars agree that the doctrine was not raised below and is not properly before us. 10 Because it was not raised in the trial court, the accommodation doctrine as related to Key’s use of the Hegar Tract’s surface was not properly before the court of appeals and we need not determine whether it was correctly applied. See Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez, 206 S.W.3d 572, 577 (Tex. 2006) (“Except for fundamental error, appellate courts are not authorized to consider issues not properly raised by the parties.”).