CALVERT v. SWINFORD, 382 P.3d 1039

Plaintiffs (sisters Calvert and Roper) sold real property in Noble County but intended to retain the mineral interests; deeds were prepared and filed without reserving minerals.
Approximately 12 years after deed recording, plaintiffs discovered the mineral reservation was not made and sued for negligence and reformation against the Kansas attorney (Randee Koger) and his law firm Bremyer & Wise, LLC.
Defendants moved for summary judgment asserting plaintiffs’ claims were time-barred by the applicable statutes of limitation.
The trial court granted summary judgment for the attorney and firm, finding the recorded deeds gave the grantors constructive notice of any mistake when filed and thus the limitations period had run.
The plaintiffs appealed; the Oklahoma Supreme Court retained the appeal to resolve whether a grantor’s cause of action accrues when the deed is filed with the county clerk.
The Court held that the statute of limitations accrues when the deed is filed of public record and affirmed the trial court’s summary judgment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
When does the statute of limitations begin to run for a grantor's negligence/reformation claim based on an allegedly defective deed?	Accrual did not occur until plaintiffs discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the omission of mineral reservations years later.	The recorded deed provided constructive notice at the time of filing, so the cause of action accrued when the deed was filed and the limitations period began then.	The statute of limitations begins to run when the deed is filed with the county clerk; summary judgment affirmed.

Calvert v. Swinford, 2016 OK 100 (Oklahoma Supreme Court) (holding statute of limitations accrues when deed is filed of public record).