| (a) A final order with a finding of "Not Vacant Land" may not be appealed. (b) A final order finding a vacancy exists is subject to appeal by a necessary party that has: (1) a present legal interest in the surface, subsurface or mineral estate at the time a vacancy application is properly filed; or (2) acquired a legal interest in the vacant land before the date of the commissioner's final order. (c) A necessary party may file an appeal not later than the 30th day after the date the commissioner issued the final order. All necessary parties that have been located must be provided notice of an appeal under this section by the party filing the appeal. (d) A person whose predecessor in title was bound by the outcome of an appeal is bound to the same extent that the predecessor in title would be bound if the predecessor in title continued to hold title. (e) The district court in the county in which a majority of the vacant land is located has jurisdiction of an appeal under this subchapter. In an appeal of the commissioner's final order determining that a vacancy exists, the district court shall conduct a trial de novo. The court may review the commissioner's declaration of good-faith claimant status only in conjunction with a review of a final order determining that a vacancy exists. |
