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June 10, 2005, 11:16PM

FAMILY WINS APPEAL TO GET PADRE ISLAND ROYALTIES

Court rules for heirs of priest who received title to land in 1700s

Associated Press / Houston Chronicle

A Texas appeals court has upheld a decision to award mineral royalties
from land on Padre Island to more than 300 heirs of a prominent South
Texas family, possibly resulting in a windfall exceeding $50 million.

The issue in the case, first filed in 1993, was whether Gilbert
Kerlin, a New York lawyer, swindled the Balli family out of mineral
rights to land they sold in 1938. The family had held title to the
land since the 1700s, when a priest, Padre Nicolas Balli, received a
Spanish land grant.

The family won in district court after a three-month jury trial in
2000. It is not expected that the verdict will be appealed further.
The amount of the judgment is to be determined.

"It's the first time a Mexican-American family wins anything here in
the United States," said Gracie De la Rosa of Dallas, a Balli
descendant. "We would talk about this when we were kids. Nobody really
believed us outside the family. (The decision) is just like saying all
these years it's true. This man cheated us ... it's a big
vindication."

Padre Balli's heirs are descendants of his nephew, Juan Jose Balli.
Padre Island is named for the priest.

Kerlin died last year. He said the Ballis had no real claim to Padre
Island in the 1930s.

Kerlin arrived in Brownsville in 1938, a young lawyer fresh out of
Harvard.

He bought the titles for Padre Island and promised to share with the
family any money from oil pumped from the island. But the Ballis never
heard from Kerlin again.

Over the years, the prominent family slid into poverty.

The Balli family has been fighting with the Kenedy Foundation for
about two years about ownership of the land, which is rich in oil and
gas. Officials at the Kenedy Foundation said a title in their
possession makes them the rightful owners.

Online at:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3220646

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APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS SOUTH TEXAS HEIRS' ROYALTIES CLAIM

06/10/2005

Associated Press / Denton Record-Chronicle

A Texas appeals court has upheld a decision to award mineral royalties
from land on Padre Island to more than 300 heirs of a prominent South
Texas family, possibly resulting in a windfall exceeding $50 million.

The issue in the case, first filed in 1993, was whether Gilbert
Kerlin, a New York lawyer, swindled the Balli family out of mineral
rights to land they sold in 1938. The family had held title to the
land since the 1700s, when a priest, Padre Nicolas Balli, received a
Spanish land grant.

The family won in district court after a three-month jury trial in
2000. It is not expected that the verdict will be appealed further.
The amount of the judgment is to be determined.

"It's the first time a Mexican-American family wins anything here in
the United States," said Gracie De la Rosa of Dallas, a Balli
descendant. "We would talk about this when we were kids. Nobody really
believed us outside the family. (The decision) is just like saying all
these years it's true. This man cheated us ... it's a big
vindication."

Padre Balli's heirs are descendants of his nephew, Juan Jose Balli.
Padre Island is named for the priest.

Kerlin died last year. He said the Ballis had no real claim to Padre
Island in the 1930s, and that he was duped into buying worthless
deeds.

Kerlin arrived in Brownsville in 1938, a young lawyer fresh out of
Harvard. He was on a mission for his uncle, who had a hunch he might
strike oil beneath the sands of Padre Island.

Kerlin was instructed to find the Balli heirs and buy their stake in
the desolate beaches.

The young Kerlin bought the titles and promised to share with the
family any money from oil pumped from the island. But the Ballis never
heard from Kerlin again.

As the years went by, the prominent family slid into poverty.

The Balli family has been fighting with the Kenedy Foundation for
about two years about ownership of the land, which is rich in oil and
gas.

Officials at the Kenedy Foundation said that a title in their
possession makes them the rightful owners. The foundation has occupied
the land for about two years.

Online at:
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8AKTIDO0.html

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