## Facts

- Kanawha Sand Company conveyed three tracts on Blennerhassett Island (Ohio River) to James E. Sands by deed dated April 18, 1960, while reserving sand and gravel rights.
- The deed reserved to the grantor “all sand and gravel” located “between low water mark of the Ohio River” (expressly defined by reference to the river’s lowest stage before locks and dams) and “the top of the bank or banks along the shores of said island.”
- The deed granted the reservation holder the exclusive right to dredge and remove sand and gravel, and included a broad release by the grantee for damage to the land, banks, shores, and beds resulting from removal operations.
- DuPont later became the surface owner (successor to Sands) and leased the property to the State of West Virginia for use as a historical park.
- McDonough Company later acquired the grantor’s reserved sand and gravel rights.
- A dispute arose over whether the reservation extended up to the “top of the bank” in a way that included subsurface sand and gravel within that shoreward corridor, or whether it was limited to sand and gravel in the river-margin area.
- The circuit court declared that McDonough owned sand and gravel between the river’s low-water mark and high-water mark, and that DuPont owned the remaining sand and gravel beneath the island; the appealed issue was the declaratory judgment, not the trespass damages claim.

## Issues

1. Whether the 1960 deed reserved sand and gravel rights extending from the defined low-water mark up to the “top of the bank,” including subsurface sand and gravel within that zone, or only sand and gravel between the river’s low- and high-water marks.
2. How a court should construe an ambiguous deed reservation as between the reserving grantor (and its successor) and the grantee (and its successor).

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the circuit court’s declaratory judgment.
- The court held that McDonough’s reserved rights covered only sand and gravel between the Ohio River’s low-water mark and high-water mark along the island’s shore.
- The court held that DuPont owned all remaining sand and gravel, including sand and gravel underlying the island beyond the near-shore area.
- The court relied on the reservation’s language and context (dredging-focused terms such as banks, shores, and beds) and the rule that reservations are construed against the grantor.

## Legal Principles

- Deed reservations are strictly construed against the grantor and in favor of the grantee.
- Deed construction begins with the instrument’s language; courts avoid expanding a reservation beyond what is clearly expressed.
- Where a reservation’s scope is uncertain, ambiguity is resolved to limit the reservation rather than sever a broader property interest not stated with clear language.

## Conclusion

The court limited the sand-and-gravel reservation to the river’s low- to high-water zone and, applying strict construction against the reserving grantor, refused to interpret the deed as reserving a broader subsurface sand and gravel estate under the island.


McDonough Co. v. E.I. DuPont DeNemours & Co., 280 S.E.2d 246 (W. Va. 1981)