Court Opinion

ID: 9734709
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:43:58.29967+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:50.766421
License: Public Domain

Justice SAYLOR,
concurring.
I join the majority opinion. The tension between the formalism involved in strictly applying the four unities and the salutary aim of effectuating the wishes of joint tenants has been extensively discussed in the literature. See, e.g., R.H. Helmholz, Realism and Formalism in the Severance of Joint Tenancies, 77 Neb. L.Rev. 1, 2-3 (1998) (summarizing a segment of the decisions and commentary). I support the decision to favor the latter in the oil-and-gas-lease context, as reflected in the opinions of the orphan’s court (per the Honorable Alfred B. Bell), the Superior Court (which adopted Judge Bell’s rationale), and the present majority. Accord Kuntz on the Law op Oil and Gas § 5.9 (1989).