The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that lets private individuals own the minerals under their land, a policy that dates to the founding fathers as they sought to elevate private interests over those of the British Crown. This financial incentive to allow new drilling goes a long way in explaining the nation’s natural gas boom. The National Association of Royalty Owners estimates some 12 million American landowners receive royalties for the exploitation of oil, gas and other mineral resources under their property. But as U.S. production reaches record levels — it recently surpassed the previous high point in 1970 — a complex web of laws and court rulings is evolving over how these royalties are distributed. That’s creating vast differences in how much money property owners actually get, and prompting a number of lawsuits accusing energy companies of shortchanging them. A tale of two […]