Sara E. Fanning

Sara helps land and mineral rights owners successfully resolve oil and gas disputes, both in the courtroom and at the negotiating table. She has particular strengths with issues involving the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act and the Ohio Marketable Title Act. In addition, she has resolved a wide range of lease disputes and has extensive experience reviewing title, drafting title opinions, and performing title curative work for producers in the Marcellus and Utica Shale Formations.

Sara regularly negotiates oil and gas leases and pipeline rights-of-way on behalf of her individual and LLC clients. She understands the challenges and complexities of preserving and regaining mineral rights and is adept at examining deeds to quickly identify problems and determine how properties were conveyed and rights reserved.

Clients appreciate Sara’s creativity and know she will bring innovative solutions to defend their rights and promote their interests, as she did in Moore v. MonBel Unit 1, LLC. In that dispute, she obtained a summary judgment decision in favor of her clients that allowed them to void the sale of their lease royalty interest they had surrendered in exchange for a membership interest in what the court ruled to be an unregistered security interest.

Services

• Energy, Utilities, Oil & Gas
• Real Estate

Industries

• Energy, Utilities, Oil & Gas

1. Capital University Law School, J.D.
2. Butler University, B.A., Political Science

Bar Admissions

1. Ohio

Court Admissions

1. U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio

• Selected to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Real Estate Law (2021)

Professional Affiliations

• The Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA)
• The Ohio State Bar Association
• The Columbus Bar Association