{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-521","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-521","heading":"Failure to negotiate damages agreement - Petition for","body":"appointment of appraisers - Notice - Selection of appraisers -\n\nReport by appraisers - Filing of exceptions or demand for jury trial\n\n- Assessment of costs and attorney fees.\n\nA. Prior to entering the site with heavy equipment, the\n\noperator shall negotiate with the surface owner for the payment of\n\nany damages which may be caused by the drilling operation. If the\n\nparties agree, and a written contract is signed, the operator may\n\nenter the site to drill. If agreement is not reached, or if the\n\noperator is not able to contact all parties, the operator shall\n\npetition the district court in the county in which the drilling site\n\nis located for appointment of appraisers to make recommendations to\n\nthe parties and to the court concerning the amount of damages, if\n\nany. Once the operator has petitioned for appointment of\n\nappraisers, he may enter the site to drill.\n\nB. Ten (10) days' notice of the petition to appoint appraisers\n\nshall be given to the opposite party, either by personal service or\n\nby leaving a copy thereof at his usual place of residence with some\n\nmember of his family over fifteen (15) years of age, or, in the case\n\nof nonresidents, unknown heirs or other persons whose whereabouts\n\ncannot be ascertained, by publication in one issue of a newspaper\n\nqualified to publish legal notices in said county, as provided in\n\nSection 106 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes, said ten-day\n\nperiod to begin with the first publication.\n\nC. The operator shall select one appraiser, the surface owner\n\nshall select one appraiser, and the two selected appraisers shall\n\nselect a third appraiser for appointment by the court. Unless, for\n\ngood cause shown, additional time is allowed by the district court,\n\nthe three (3) appraisers shall be selected within twenty (20) days\n\nof service of the notice of the petition to appoint appraisers or\n\nwithin twenty (20) days of the first date of publication of the\n\nnotice as specified in subsection B of this section. If either of\n\nthe parties fails to appoint an appraiser or if the two appraisers\n\ncannot agree on the selection of the third appraiser within the\n\nrequired time period, the remaining required appraisers shall be\n\nselected by the district court upon application of either party.\n\nBefore entering upon their duties, such appraisers shall take and\n\nsubscribe an oath, before a notary public or some other person\n\nauthorized to administer oaths, that they will perform their duties\n\nfaithfully and impartially to the best of their ability. They shall\n\ninspect the real property and consider the surface damages which the\n\nowner has sustained or will sustain by reason of entry upon the\n\nsubject land and by reason of drilling or maintenance of brine\n\nproduction on the subject tract of land. The appraisers shall then\n\nfile a written report within thirty (30) days of the date of their\n\nappointment with the clerk of the court. The report shall set forth\n\nthe quantity, boundaries and value of the property entered on or to\n\nbe utilized in said brine drilling, and the amount of surface\n\ndamages done or to be done to the property. The appraisers shall\n\nmake a valuation and determine the amount of compensation to be paid\n\nby the operator to the surface owner and the manner in which the\n\namount shall be paid. Said appraisers shall then make a report of\n\ntheir proceedings to the court. The compensation of the appraisers\n\nshall be fixed and determined by the court. The operator and the\n\nsurface owner shall share equally in the payment of the appraisers'\n\nfees and court costs.\n\nD. Within ten (10) days after the report of the appraisers is\n\nfiled, the clerk of the court shall forward to each attorney of\n\nrecord, each party, and interested party of record, a copy of the\n\nreport of the appraisers and a notice stating the time limits for\n\nfiling an exception or a demand for jury trial as provided for in\n\nthis section.\nin the payment of the appraisers'\n\nfees and court costs.\n\nD. Within ten (10) days after the report of the appraisers is\n\nfiled, the clerk of the court shall forward to each attorney of\n\nrecord, each party, and interested party of record, a copy of the\n\nreport of the appraisers and a notice stating the time limits for\n\nfiling an exception or a demand for jury trial as provided for in\n\nthis section.\n\n1. This notice shall be on a form prepared by the\n\nAdministrative Director of the Courts, approved by the Oklahoma\n\nSupreme Court, and supplied to all district court clerks.\n\n2. If a party has been served by publication, the clerk shall\n\nforward a copy of the report of the appraisers and the notice of\n\ntime limits for filing either an exception or a demand for jury\n\ntrial to the last-known mailing address of each party, if any, and\n\nshall cause a copy of the notice of time limits to be published in\n\none issue of a newspaper qualified to publish legal notices as\n\nprovided in Section 106 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\n3. After issuing the notice provided herein, the clerk shall\n\nendorse on the notice form filed in the case the date that a copy of\n\nthe report and the notice form was forwarded to each attorney of\n\nrecord, each party, and each interested party of record, or the date\n\nthe notice was published.\n\nE. The time for filing an exception to the report or a demand\n\nfor jury trial shall be calculated as commencing from the date the\n\nreport of the appraisers is filed with the court. Upon failure of\n\nthe clerk to give notice within the time prescribed, the court, upon\n\napplication by any interested party, may extend the time for filing\n\nan exception to the report or filing a demand for trial by jury for\n\na reasonable period of time not less than twenty (20) days from the\n\ndate the application is heard by the court. Appraisers' fees and\n\ncourt costs may be the subject of an exception, may be included in\n\nan action by the petitioner and may be set and allowed by the court.\n\nF. The report of the appraisers may be reviewed by the court,\n\nupon written exceptions filed with the court by either party within\n\nthirty (30) days after the filing of the report. After the hearing,\n\nthe court shall enter the appropriate order either by confirmation,\n\nrejection, modification or order of a new appraisal for good cause\n\nshown. Provided, that in the event a new appraisal is ordered, the\n\noperator shall have continuing right of entry subject to the\n\ncontinuance of the bond required herein. Either party may, within\n\nsixty (60) days after the filing of such report, file with the clerk\n\na written demand for a trial by jury, in which case the amount of\n\ndamages shall be assessed by a jury. The trial shall be conducted\n\nand judgment entered in the same manner as railroad condemnation\n\nactions tried in the court. If the party demanding the jury trial\n\ndoes not recover a verdict more favorable to him than the assessment\n\naward of the appraisers, all court costs including reasonable\n\nattorney fees shall be assessed against him.","path":["OK Code","Title 17"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os17.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"ef2b12c446f6c49d685ed6e54e77f558be276aca239bf9637c7a932bde84d801","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-520","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-522"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}