George T. Veal v. Claude A. Thomason

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that the lessors who executed unitized leases are joint owners of the royalty interest and therefore necessary parties to the suit seeking to free the land from a lease. Accordingly, the Court reversed the Court of Civil Appeals and affirmed the district court's dismissal of the case for lack of joinder. The opinion also reaffirmed that mineral royalties created by a land contract constitute a real property interest.